Turkey has named a new Cabinet that includes a new ministry to oversee the country's European Union bid.

The 26-member Cabinet put together by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan includes six new members. Turkey's chief E.U. negotiator, Egemen Bagis, will head the European Union Ministry.

Mr. Erdogan said the new government intends to dramatically reduce the deficit and pursue reforms to expand rights in response to European Union requirements for membership. Delays in such reforms have hampered Turkey's E.U. membership bid, which has also wavered due to the dispute over the divided island of Cyprus.

The new government will focus on drafting a new constitution. The present document is a legacy of a 1980 military coup. The ruling Justice and Development Party won a third consecutive term in office last month, with 327 of the 550 seats in parliament not enough to adopt a new constitution on its own.

Meanwhile, most of the opposition – nearly one third of the elected deputies – has refused to take the parliamentary oath to protest bans on some elected candidates, eight of whom are in jail.