667th Meeting of the Permanent Council
The EU would like to thank the delegation of Kazakhstan for the information it has provided on the amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan adopted last week. We appreciate the fact that the Permanent Council is being kept informed about this important issue.
We note that the stated purpose of the changes is to democratise society and to provide effective protection of the constitutional rights and freedoms of the people. We welcome the opportunity to learn more about the reforms and the plans for their implementation at the informal briefing to be given tomorrow by H.E. the Minister of Justice of Kazakhstan.
As has been made clear today, the package of constitutional amendments will affect a large number of areas and the implications have yet to be analysed in depth. The EU will continue to follow the reform process in Kazakhstan closely and may wish to return to this issue in due course.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia, EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldovaalign themselves with this statement.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
