Thorbjorn Jagland

Turkey belongs to Europe, and if Turkey were ever to be pushed away from Europe, the continent would suffer “many more problems than it experiences today,” Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland told daily Hürriyet on Feb. 16.

The spokesperson of Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland has warned that Turkey risks further appeals to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) if it does not see effective domestic legal remedy for those dismissed or detained under state of emergency measures.

CoE Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland spoke to PM Yıldırım over the phone late July 19 to express his concerns over the arrest of human rights activists as well as the situation of two educators who have been on hunger strike for 134 days in prison.

Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland has stressed the importance of "justice starting to work" in Turkey, adding that he is concerned by the current situation regarding fundamental rights in the country. 

Turkey's EU Minister Ömer Çelik will travel to Brussels and Strasbourg on May 9, where he is expected to hold meetings with the bloc's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini, European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, and Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland, after a period of high tension between the EU and Ankara. 

Turkey's EU Minister Ömer Çelik has stated that developments that threaten global security necessitate a "reinforced relationship" between Ankara and Brussels. 

His statement came a day after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) re-opened monitoring process on Turkey, and it also touched on his visits to Brussels and Strasbourg in the coming weeks. 

International election monitors have delivered a scathing verdict on the conduct of Turkey’s controversial referendum to grant expansive new powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Remarks made by European Council Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland, who says the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) may process applications on the jailed journalists and politicians in Turkey before awaiting a verdict from the Constitutional Court, should be treated as a very serious warning.

After a week of continued earthquakes in ties between Turkey and the European Union following the arrests of 12 lawmakers of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), including its co-leaders, Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, and the editor-in-chief and a number of writers of daily Cumhuriyet, it seems both parties are willing to launch a new process of dialogue. 

Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland has warned Ankara of the risk of increasing the number of appeals at the European Court of Human Rights due to harsh state of emergency measures, raising concern about disproportionate measures taken by decree laws.