The European Union welcomed Turkish steps towards expanding...

The European Union welcomed Turkish steps towards expanding civil liberties, but said in its progress report on candidates that the reforms far from guarantee freedoms required for membership in the bloc.
The constitutional amendments passed in October were a "significant step towards strengthening guarantees in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms and limiting capital punishment."
But the changes to the national charter did not completely abolish the death penalty as defined in the European Convention on Human Rights, and Turkey still restricted fundamental freedoms, including linguistic and cultural rights for the country's 12 million ethnic Kurds, the report said.