After Turkey secures the visa waiver, its citizens will be able to travel freely throughout Europe’s 26-nation Schengen Zone by the end of June.
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Turkey has pressed the European Union to respect its promises over what the government in Ankara regards as its big win from the migrant deal signed at a summit on March 18. In its recommendation report, the commission said Turkey had not fulfilled all but most of the criteria, while also urging the country to meet the remaining criteria as immediately as possible.
Earlier, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU may introduce a visa-free regime with Turkey in the autumn 2016 if Ankara implements all the necessary requirements.
Kosovo, with a population of 1.8 million joins Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia in a current crop of neighboring countries in the process of being added to a list of those whose citizens do not require prior visa approval to travel to Europe.
The move is part of a package of incentives offered to Turkey – including up to 6 billion euros ($6.8 billion) in aid for Syrian refugees and fast-track European Union membership talks – to persuade Ankara to stop migrants heading to Europe and take thousands back from Greece.
Frans Timmermans, first vice-president of the European Commission said Wednesday that Turkey has “made impressive progress” during the last weeks, on achieving objectives of the visa roadmap. However, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and countries in the Schengen area, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, are not included in the deal.
The visa-free travel plan is expected to apply to nearly all EU Member States. This suspension mechanism can be triggered by any Member State, by notifying the Commission that it is confronted with an emergency situation which it cannot remedy on its own, flowing from visa-free travel.
The issue of granting visa-free access to Turkey’s 79 million citizens is a controversial one within the EU.
Diplomats speculate that the division over migration between Eastern states and richer Western members which pay for the European Union grants and subsidies they receive could affect negotiations on the bloc’s budget.
The Commission further announced a six-month extension of border controls in the Schengen zone, which have been reintroduced in some places as a result of the migrant crisis and recent terror attacks in Paris and Brussels.
In a statement issued Wednesday – a statement heavy on bureaucratic language and light on specifics – the commission said Turkey was working hard to meet those requirements.
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The EU proposed the deal to Ankara on condition that the latter take back refugees who reached Greece via the Aegean Sea. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.
