ASTANA — The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a written declaration on June 25 welcoming Kazakhstan’s constitutional reforms following the March 15 referendum. A day later, members of the European Parliament discussed the country’s political modernization and cooperation with the European Union in Brussels.
PACE adopts a written declaration on June 25 welcoming Kazakhstan’s constitutional reforms. Photo credit: Kazakh Consulate General in Strasbourg. Authored by PACE member Mehmet Akalın of Türkiye and signed by 22 parliamentarians representing political groups and national delegations from European countries, the declaration outlines the reforms’ stated objectives.
“We welcome the stated objectives of the reforms, which include a transition towards a more balanced model of governance, the strengthening of accountability mechanisms, the expansion of citizens’ access to constitutional justice, as well as the reinforcement of human rights guarantees,” reads the declaration.
Among the participants was Czech Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Tomáš Zdechovský, who chaired the European Parliament’s delegation for cooperation with Central Asia and Mongolia from 2022 to 2024. He visited Astana and Almaty last year as co-chair of the Kazakhstan-EU Parliamentary Cooperation Committee.
“Kazakhstan has become one of the European Union’s key partners in Central Asia – economically, strategically, and increasingly also politically. With EU-Kazakhstan trade reaching around 45 billion euros [US$51.34 billion] in 2024 and European investment exceeding 54 billion euros [US$61.7 billion], our cooperation is already strong and continues to grow.
But a truly meaningful partnership is not built on economic interests alone,” Zdechovský wrote on X. He noted that Kazakhstan’s constitutional reforms and broader political modernization require continued dialogue on democratic governance, the rule of law, transparency and civic participation.
“Today’s exchange highlighted both the progress already made and the challenges that remain ahead. It also underlined one important message: the next chapter of EU-Kazakhstan relations should stand on two pillars – strong economic cooperation and strong cooperation on shared values,” he said.
“The European Union remains committed to deepening its partnership with Kazakhstan and supporting an open dialogue on stability, prosperity, and democratic modernization,” he added.