A clear majority of member states and the European Parliament must approve the deal.
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The European Commission recommended May 4 that Turkish citizens be added to the list of countries to be exempt from visas when entering the Schengen zone, Hurriyet reports.
Until this is fully the case, and until the Commission provides the Parliament with a written guarantee that it is the case, thorough work should continue but no referral to committee can take place, the conference said.
In its proposal to allow visa-free access to Turkey – which now must be approved by EU governments and the European Parliament – the Commission included a “snap-back mechanism”, that would allow the EU to suspend the system. “But if Turkey sustains the progress made and continues at the same pace, they can meet the remaining benchmarks”, said Timmermans May 4 during a press conference, alongside Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European Union commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship.
More than 1 million migrants entered Europe previous year, often traveling to Lesbos from Turkey before heading on to northern Europe.
Turkey has been rushing to meet the criteria.
Citizens of most European Union member states in the Schengen borderless zone are already exempt from obtaining a visa before visiting Turkey.
For its part, the “Financial Times” said that the European Commission proposed making countries pay a “solidarity contribution” of 250,000 ($290,000) euros per refugee they decline to take.
The new laws include making a reciprocal visa agreement for European Union nationals, including those of Cyprus, with which Turkey has long-standing tensions over its occupation of the north of the Mediterranean island.
In January 2012, visa liberalization talks with Kosovo were launched by the European Commission.
Approval of visa-free travel is a key component of the deal negotiated with Turkey by which it commits to take back migrants crossing from Turkish territory to the Greek islands.
In a bid to ease the divisions, EU President Donald Tusk is now touring the Balkan states and Turkey, the main departure point for refugees.
IT’S NOT ON: Activists in Rome protest in front of the Turkish embassy against the EU-Turkey agreement on migrants. Of 13 Finnish MEPs just three say they favour lifting the visa requirement, seven are opposed and a further three remain on the fence.
The EU will furthermore allow countries to extend border controls in the Schengen area as a result of the migrant crisis and recent terror attacks.
The Commission is proposing a special mechanism whereby refugees and migrants can be relocated to other countries if a crisis is declared – for example in Greece.
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“There is no free ride here”, he said, stressing that Ankara would have to meet standards required of other states exempt from visas.
