European commission: You will gain prestige with the new constitution

The process of drafting a new and democratic constitution for Turkey was discussed at a meeting in the European Parliament on Tuesday, which was jointly organized by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) and the Friends of Turkey. The EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Commission's former co-chair Joost Lagendijk, Deputy Director-General in the Enlargement Directorate-General Joost Korte, Alojz Peterle, chairman of the Friends of Turkey, TUSKON Secretary-General Mustafa Gunay, Kurdish intellectual and writer Kemal Burkay and academic Bekir Berat Ozipek were among the participants of the event. Korte said Turkey must not waste what he said "historical opportunity" to adopt a civilian constitution in his speech at the gathering. Noting that drafting the new constitution is not the job of only politicians and that there is a need for all segments of the Turkish society to contribute to efforts in writing the civilian constitution, Korte said politicians should forsake their party policies and abandon electoral calculations while preparing the new constitution. He added that the new constitution must be in line with the standards of European Convention of Human Rights and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, protecting fundamental rights and freedoms of every citizen and emboldening the rule of law. Korte underlined that not only the European Union, but also Turkey's neighbours are also closely watching the process of writing the new constitution. He said the new constitution will definitely polish Turkey prestige and strengthen its role as an actor in the international arena. He said that preparing the new constitution is entirely Turkey's job and that the 27-member club is ready to lend any kind of support to Turkey in this process.