Citizens of Kosovo will be able to travel freely within Europe’s borderless Schengen zone under a European Commission proposal after the tiny Balkan state introduced a series of reforms sought by Brussels.
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Turkey had repeatedly threatened to annul a migration pact it reached with the European Union in March unless visa-free travel was included in the deal.
EU Commission says Turkey met most of 72 criteria needed and invites legislative organs of the bloc to endorse the move.
To go into effect, it must be approved by the European Council – representatives of the 28 EU member countries – and the European Parliament.
The call of the European Commission to the EU to abolish the visa regime with Turkey can be considered a start of the official procedure for visa regime abolition, the Turkish Minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir said, TRT Haber reported May 4. 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. “The European Commission’s report suggested visa-free travel for Turks into Schengen countries, which means Turkey is doing its part”.
European Union citizens can already travel to Kosovo visa-free.
He adds that tough questions will be asked when this issue is put before the European Parliament and a summit of EU leaders in June.
Timmermans said Turkey had made “impressive progress, particularly in recent weeks”.
According to a European source, Turkey must complete five more benchmarks by the end of next month to complete the EU’s list of 72, which include biometric passports and human rights issues. EU Minister Volkan Bozkir said Wednesday in a press conference that Turkey is now “in a very crucial position”, but the legal process is expected to end by June.
Turkish citizens should be able to travel to European Union countries, with the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland, as early as June under a landmark new deal.
The EU has been overwhelmed by more than 1.25 million refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere since the start of previous year.
The deal seems to have helped discourage refugees who were planning to reach Europe illegally via Turkey, as the latest figures obtained from Turkish Coast Guard revealed that no casualties occurred in Turkish waters in April 2016.
The Commission is proposing a special mechanism whereby refugees and asylum seekers can be relocated to other countries if a crisis is declared – for example in Greece.
Germany, France, Austria, Denmark and Sweden requested the extension, saying the border situation remains “extremely volatile”.
Turkey, home to 2.7 million Syrian refugees, has agreed to crack down on smuggling networks operating in the Aegean Sea and take back any migrant who landed in Greece after March 20.
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The freedom of entry and movement applies within the passport-free Schengen area only.
