President Abdullah Gul approved a new Cabinet on Wednesday, including a minister to oversee Turkey's European Union bid, and the prime minister promised to dramatically reduce the deficit and pursue reforms to expand rights as the EU has asked. Gul swiftly signed off on the Cabinet proposed by his old ally, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The government will face a confidence vote Wednesday that it has the numbers to win. Two opposition parties plan to boycott the vote, however, to protest court rulings keeping some of their newly elected lawmakers in jail. The 26-member Cabinet, which includes six new members, will focus on drafting a new constitution _ the current one is a legacy of the 1980 military coup _ to improve rights and freedoms. Delays in such reforms have hampered Turkey's bid to join the European Union _ which has also wavered because of European skepticism and a dispute over the divided island of Cyprus. Membership seems even more distant now because of Europe's recent financial upheaval. Erdogan also assured reporters that his new government would take measures to curb the current account deficit, which doubled to $63.4 billion in April compared to a year ago. «The current account deficit is not worrying,» Erdogan said. «You will see, it will be very different in the fourth quarter, we are taking measures accordingly.» -- SPA
