Constitutional amendment

Romania's lower chamber of parliament is to vote on Tuesday on a controversial constitutional amendment that modifies the definition of family to describe it as an institution based on a "consensual marriage between a man and a woman".

In an effort to shift the domestic political discourse away from the difficult negotiations with its creditors and the impasse, the Greek government made its proposals for a constitutional reform public, Monday.

The 10 percent election threshold may be changed if the constitutional amendment passes at the referendum, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said, noting that because the new system will "provide stability," there will no longer be reason to fear potential instability - the ostensible reason the threshold was inserted in the 1982 Constitution. 

Yet another clash has erupted between the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and Europe, this time regarding the Venice Commission's highly critical report on the constitutional amendments to be voted on in the April 16 referendum. 

Two articles in the proposed constitutional amendments will go into effect before the 2019 general elections if the "yes" votes emerge from the April 16 referendum, a chief presidential adviser has said.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has accused the Venice Commission of being a "mouthpiece of Turkey's opposition," criticizing the timing and wording of its new report on the government-supported constitutional amendment to shift Turkey to an executive presidential system. 

President Rumen Radev said he had never welcomed and would never welcome the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), according to BNR.

The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe has prepared a report regarding the April 16 constitutional referendum in which citizens of Turkey will decide whether to replace the current parliamentary system with an executive presidency, warning that the changes would usher in a "one-person regime."

A report prepared by the Venice Commission that is set to be released next week examining Turkey's constitutional amendments will not be acceptable, a senior Turkish government official has said, criticizing the Council of Europe's advisory board of drafting it with political agenda. 

If there are no last-minute changes, the Council of Europe's Venice Commission is expected to release its report on Turkey's constitutional amendment package on March 13.