President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, on behalf of the EU take note of the result of the referendum in Turkey, but wait for the international observation mission to assess the procedure, a written statement issued on Sunday says.
The three top EU officials also encourage Turkey to take into account all Council of Europe`s recommendations on the proposed constitutional amendments, while building on national consensus.
The full text of the statement is as follows:
“We take note of the reported results of the referendum in Turkey on the amendments to the Constitution, adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 21 January 2017.
We are awaiting the assessment of the OSCE/ODIHR International Observation Mission, also with regard to alleged irregularities.
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.
We encourage Turkey to address the Council of Europe`s concerns and recommendations, including with regards to the State of Emergency. 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.”