Officials from the European Commission have said they will assess the results of the Turkish referendum and how its far-reaching constitutional amendments might affect the country’s European Union candidacy.
Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission president; Federica Mogherini, vice president and high representative for foreign affairs and security policy; and Johannes Hahn, commissioner for European neighborhood policy and enlargement negotiations, released a joint statement on the referendum.
“The constitutional amendments, and especially their practical implementation, will be assessed in light of Turkey’s obligations as a European Union candidate country and as a member of the Council of Europe,” the officials said in the statement.
Although the statement acknowledged the reported results of the referendum, the officials said that they were awaiting the assessment of the OSCE/OHIHR International Observation Mission.
“We encourage Turkey to address the Council of Europe’s concerns and recommendations, including with regards to the State of Emergency,” Juncker, Mogherini and Hahn said. “In view of the close referendum result and the far-reaching implications of the constitutional amendments, we also call on the Turkish authorities to seek the broadest possible national consensus in their implementation.”
