Turkey’s ruling party on Tuesday reversed plans to criminalise adultery, bowing to pressure from civil rights groups and opposition MPs and avoiding a potential hiccup in the country’s push to join the European Union.

Conservative elements in the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development party (AKP) of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to include the proposal in a set of changes to the penal code that went before parliament on Tuesday. But the government agreed that only amendments to the code agreed with the opposition would be included.