09/01/2026 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 9 January, Isabel Wiseler-Lima (EPP, Luxembourgish), the leader of a delegation of five MEPs from different political groups, returned from a visit to Turkey and called on the Turkish authorities to “urgently halt” the decline in democracy in the country, “in particular by ensuring the independence of the judiciary, by putting an end to the harassment of independent journalists, by releasing any person arbitrarily detained and by respecting the Turkish Constitution and Turkey’s international obligations with regard to human rights and fundamental freedoms”. During their visit, the MEPs noted the firm desire of the Turkish authorities and the party in power to strengthen their cooperation with the EU, and underscored their openness to dialogue and to the constructive examination of possibilities for future cooperation, according to Ms Wiseler-Lima. This was the first visit by a delegation from the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights to Turkey since 2022. (CG)