Strasbourg

The Council of Europe has said pre-trial detention should either be avoided as much as possible or used as a ?last resort,? noting the abusive use of pre-trial detention for politically motivated purposes is seen in several countries including Turkey.

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President Anne Brasseur met on Thursday in Strasbourg with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.

Brasseur said after the meeting she was "very appreciative of all the efforts that Serbia is making to maintain dialogue with its neighbors."

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has announced that his final decision on calling early parliamentary elections will be made "by October 15."

This will happen "after he returns from Brussels," he explained on Thursday, addressing reporters in Strasbourg.

Republican People's Party (CHP) head Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu has started a five-day European tour during which he is scheduled to meet top European politicians and Turks living in Europe, as part of his party's election campaign.

As part of his campaign for the Nov. 1 snap election, the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu, will gather with Turkish citizens during consecutive visits to six European countries, where he will also meet top European politicians in order to discuss the growing refugee crisis the EU has encountered. 

A Turkish professor from Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) was elected as the first president of the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) on Sept. 22. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is scheduled to go to Strasbourg on Oct. 4 to attend a rally to protest recent attacks by militants.

The rally was announced by the president's top secretary, Hasan Do?an, on his Twitter account. 

The EU is setting up a 1.8-billion-euro ($2-billion) trust fund to help curb the influx of desperate migrants from Africa seeking a better life in Europe, European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sept.9.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker speaking at Strasbourg Wednesday called on EU member states to receive a portion of the refugees currently in Greece, Italy and Hungary, by presenting a proposal with the number he believed should be relocated to each country. According to the Commission’s estimates there are currently 54,000 in Hungary, 50,400 in Greece and 15,600 in Italy.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is speaking in Strasbourg on Wednesday morning. This is his first State of the Union speech at the European Parliament that is set to report on his achievement and set out his vision. Much of the address is expected to focus on the refugee crisis.