By Pam O'Toole BBC regional analyst

The military see themselves as guardians of the secular republic

The latest package - which coincides with the EU summit in Greece - includes the scrapping of a controversial part of the anti-terror law which restricted freedom of thought and expression.

It also clears the way for private television and radio stations to carry broadcasts in other languages or dialects commonly used in Turkey, including Kurdish.

The powerful Turkish military - which sees itself as the guardian of a united secular Turkish state - is said to be uneasy about some of the elements in the package.

But it may be even more uneasy about the next package of EU-inspired reforms to be considered by the parliament.

There have been suggestions that this might tackle proposals to curtail the power of the military in Turkish politics

The Turkish Government seems determined to prove to Europe that it is ready to start talks on the EU membership next year.

To do that it has not only got to pass a succession of laws, but prove to sceptics in the EU that these democratisation reforms actually work in practice.

As a result, it is trying to rush through all the reforms needed to bring it up to EU standards before parliament breaks up for the summer.