Parliament to focus on key agendas after Eid holiday
Selçuk Böke- ANKARA
The regulation on salaries of civil servants and retirees, a new constitution and the extension of the 25 percent limit in rent increases take precedence at the top of the agenda for deputies returning to the parliament on July 4.
After President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signaled the regulation on civil servant and retiree salaries on July 29, attention turned to the opening of the parliament on July 4.
Within the regulation, the proposal to set the minimum civil servant salary at 22,000 Turkish Liras and to make improvements in retiree pensions will be presented to the parliament. It is expected that the law will be passed quickly before the parliament goes on recess again at the end of summer.
Last year, the government implemented a regulation limiting the increase in house rents to 25 percent to solve rising disputes between tenants and landlords.
This regulation, which ended on July 1, was announced to be extended until July 2, 2024.
Recently, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced that the regulation imposing a 25 percent increase limit would be one of the first tasks of the parliament after the holiday and that it would be enacted through an omnibus bill.
A constitutional amendment is also among the most important issues on the government’s agenda with the opening of the parliament. If an agreement is reached with the opposition, more comprehensive changes are expected to be discussed.
On June 15, Erdoğan expressed his desire to liberate the country from its current constitution, stressing the need for a civilian, libertarian and inclusive constitution that will be embraced by all segments of Turkish society.
On the other hand, comprehensive preparations have begun in Ankara for the NATO summit of government and state leaders, which will take place in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, on July 11-12.
While the planning of Erdoğan’s meetings with his counterparts in the Vilnius summit is being made, the agenda topics are also becoming clear. Among the priority topics in Erdoğan’s agenda are transatlantic relations, counterterrorism, the war between Russia and Ukraine, rising Islamophobia in Europe, Sweden’s NATO membership, the Quran burning incidents in Sweden and the procurement of F-16s for Türkiye.
The burning of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, outside a mosque in Sweden on June 26 sparked outrage in many Muslim countries and widespread condemnations of the Swedish authorities.
The incident occurred as Muslims worldwide began marking the Eid al-Adha holiday and as the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia was drawing to a close.
