Official Gazette / October 27 – November 2, 2025

The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has made amendments to the Mining Regulation regarding licenses, collateral, and permits. Accordingly, mining exploration and operation permits to be carried out in state forests may be granted free of charge for 24 months, and this period may be extended for another 12 months; mining activities may continue in licensed areas even if they are subject to permits. The collateral rate required for investments has also been increased from 50% to 70%, but the procedure for restoring the area to nature after mining has been abolished and replaced with a rehabilitation fee. In other words, mining companies will no longer have to bother with restoring the mining area to its former state as they did before; they will simply pay the fee and leave. The tender procedure for some mining areas has also been abolished, and the first mining company to apply will be able to obtain the license if it meets the other necessary conditions.

The Central Bank has revoked the operating license of Papara Elektronik Para A.Ş. Additionally, the support practice provided for the conversion of companies' foreign-sourced foreign currency into Turkish Lira has been extended from October 31, 2025, to April 30, 2026.

The Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Türkiye and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on the Establishment of the UNRWA Office in Ankara has been approved.

With its decision dated October 30, 2025, the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) has lowered the state support limit, which was 5,000 kWh annually, to 4,000 kWh. With the legislative change made in February 2025, a price hike of nearly 100% had been applied to the tariffs of subscribers exceeding 5,000 kWh of consumption. With the new regulation that will enter into force on January 1, 2026, many residences will be considered to have consumed beyond the limit, which will indirectly result in a hike in electricity bills. The limit in the new regulation is at a level that can be reached with the usage of household appliances and ordinary daily consumption. In other words, any extra electricity expenditure such as air conditioning and the like will cause electricity bills to skyrocket.

The decisions published in the Official Gazette dated October 24, 2025, which reduced some upper limits and discount rates in Ziraat Bank's treasury interest-profit share supported loan-financing practice, have been repealed by Presidential Decree. The loan-financing upper limits and interest-profit share discount rates will be applied as they were before the October 24, 2025 amendment. Furthermore, the amounts of treasury interest-profit share support have been limited to the appropriation allocated in the relevant year's budget in order to maintain budget discipline and ensure predictable financial management. 

The Constitutional Court evaluated the behavior of a lawyer who shared a caricature featuring former Union of Turkish Bar Associations President Metin Feyzioğlu and containing the word "yavşak" (slimy/sycophant) within the scope of freedom of criticism and deemed the punishment of the lawyer a violation of freedom of expression.