31/03/2020 (Agence Europe) – The European Parliament rapporteur on Turkey, Nacho Sánchez Amor (S&D, Spain), and the Chair of the European Parliament’s delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, Sergey Lagodinsky (Greens/EFA, Germany), called, on Monday 30 March, for the Commission and Member States to include Turkey "in the efforts that the EU is deploying in this fight, notably by mobilising funds from the EU Solidarity Fund or other instruments to help Turkey, if Ankara so requests it". As of 30 March, nearly 11,000 cases of people infected with the coronavirus had been identified. Welcoming the Turkish government's plan to substitute prison time for some inmates with alternative measures, MEPs called for the decision to be applied in a non-discriminatory and objective manner, based on health criteria and the risks that released prisoners may pose to society. (CG)