A delegation of eight members of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET), led by Chairman David McAllister, went to Ankara and Mardin from 24 to 27 February, in anticipation of the AFET annual report on Turkey’s accession process. The MEPs held meetings with leading members of the Turkish government, parliamentarians, think tanks, academics and civil society representatives. The main goal of the visit was to assess EU-Turkey relations and to evaluate the situation on the ground, namely “recent developments in the field of the rule of law, freedom of expression and media, and human rights”. Following a number of meetings, such as the one with Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Ankara, both parties highlighted the importance of establishing a sincere and positive relation based on a continuous dialogue, in which the European Parliament should play a major role. McAllister noted that, despite the difficulties and disagreements recently faced in EU-Turkey relations, both actors share common interests and challenges and “need to keep working with each other, for instance on foreign policy and regional challenges like Syria, the fight against terrorism, the economy and migration”. The visit occurred amid rising tensions in the Idlib province in northwest Syria, compromising the Joint EU-Turkey Statement of 2016 on migration management, and after the EU condemned the re-arrest of Turkish rights activist Osman Kavala on 18 February. On the latter, McAllister stated that “Turkey must take concrete steps to improve the rule of law and ensure the independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press and respect for human rights”.