EU Commission says Turkey met most of 72 criteria needed and invites legislative organs of the bloc to endorse the move.
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Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans said “there is still work to be done as a matter of urgency but if Turkey sustains the progress made, they can meet the remaining benchmarks”.
“The European Commission is today proposing to… lift the visa requirements for the citizens of Turkey”, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager stated in a message posted on Twitter on Wednesday.
But there are already warnings of the difficulties that lie ahead to secure full support for the deal, with the Green group in the European Parliament warning that visa liberalisation should not be used as a “bargaining chip” by the EU, particularly in light of recent political developments in Turkey.
The EU on Wednesday gave conditional backing to visa-free travel for Turks under a migrant deal and unveiled new asylum rules including fines for countries that refuse their share of refugees. It would allow Turkish citizens to travel without a visa for short stays of 90 days within any 180-day period for business, tourism or family purposes, in the Schengen area.
These requirements were listed in an European Union framework titled the “Roadmap Towards a Visa Free Regime with Turkey”.
Officially, the European Commission made the proposal because Turkey has fulfilled a number of pre-set EU requirements.
Turkish cabinet ministers have applauded the European Commission remarks.
In exchange, Turkey pledged to take back refugees who crossed into Europe illegally from its soil as of March 20. Greece now deports migrants from the European gateway island of Lesbos back to Turkey, and Syrian refugees from Turkey are being resettled in Europe.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and PM Ahmet Davutoglu had warned that the EU-Turkey migrant deal could be annulled if the visa liberalisation did not go through on time. Areas to be addressed include: fight against corruption, data protection, judicial cooperation with EU Member States and revision of practices on terrorism, said the commission on Wednesday. “If the European Union abolishes visas for Turkish citizens, then we will also abolish visas for the remaining European Union countries”, the official said.
Germany, France, Austria, Denmark and Sweden requested the extension, saying the border situation remains “extremely volatile”.
Nordic foreign ministers meeting in Finland said it was important that Turkey reached all 72 criteria before visa-free travel for Turks could be allowed.
The existing Dublin rules have been criticised as obsolete and unfair to countries like Greece, where most of the 1.25 million Syrian, Iraqi, Afghan and other refugees and migrants entered the bloc a year ago.
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The EU fears that without this deal, Turkey will not control migration.
