Brussels, 07/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 7 January, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland welcomed Turkey's intention to strengthen cooperation with the Council of Europe, and to become a major contributor to this organisation's budget, together with the other five large member states - France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United Kingdom.
This decision was announced at a meeting in Turkey between Jagland and several members of the Turkish government, including Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Jagland also met Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks on the crisis in Ukraine, the civil war in Syria, Turkey's European integration, and reform of the Council of Europe.
Jagland answered the press on concerns about the freedom of the media in Turkey. “A rigorous implementation of the European Convention of Human Rights at the national level and a swift execution of the Court's decisions can help resolve current issues in Turkey, in particular guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary and fighting corruption”, he said. Jagland repeated his concern over recent Islamophobic demonstrations in Germany, but added that it was reassuring to see Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel taking a strong stand against xenophobia. Jagland also welcomed the Turkish authorities' decision to allow the construction of a new Christian church in Istanbul “as a sign of respect for religious diversity”. Elsewhere on Wednesday 7 January, the EU condemned the suicide attack committed the previous day by a woman against the police in a tourist area of Istanbul. (LC)