European Commission welcomes Turkish reform vote

The European Commission has welcomed the results of referendum in Turkey on changes to their Constitution.

“The Commission welcomes the approval, by the Turkish people, of the Constitutional reforms in the referendum which took place on 12 September. It demonstrates the continued commitment of Turkish citizens to reforms in view of enhancing their rights and freedoms. As we consistently said in the past months, these reforms are a step in the right direction as they address a number of long-standing priorities in Turkey’s efforts towards fully complying with the accession criteria,” the commissioner for enlargement Stefan Fule said in a statement.

He added that changes’ impact on the ground will depend on their actual implementation. Stefan Fule said that a number of implementing laws will be needed and that the European Commission will follow their preparation very closely.

With 99 per cent of the votes counted, about 58 per cent had voted "yes" to the package of changes to Turkish Constitution. Official results will be announced on Monday. The preliminary results went in line with expectations of experts and analysts.