BRUSSELS - The European Union (EU) Commission said it is concerned about the delay of the adoption of Turkish Penal Code (TCK) draft. The draft, all articles but only two were adopted by the Turkish parliament's general assembly, has been sent back to Justice Commission late on Thursday.
Jean-Christophe Filori, the European Union (EU) Commission Spokesman, said, ''Turkey's delay in adopting a new penal code because of attempts to reintroduce adultery as a crime is a concern for the European Union (EU) and could complicate Ankara's efforts to join the bloc.''
''We learned with concern about the delay that took place in the Turkish national assembly for the adoption of this code and we understand this delay is due to attempts to reintroduce adultery as a criminal offence,'' added Filori.
''Such provisions would certainly cast doubts on Turkey's reform efforts and would risk complicating Turkey's European prospects,'' he said.
Filori recalled the draft is closely related with Copenhagen criteria and wanted the law to be adopted until October 6th.
(GC-ULG) 17.09.2004