Brussels, 19/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 20 June, the ambassadors of the 27 EU member states may break the stalemate on a major dossier with Turkey - that relating to the future visa facilitation system (with liberalisation in due course), to be made subject to Ankara's prior signing of a re-admission agreement for Turkish migrants (or migrants of other nationalities who enter the EU via Turkey). That, at any rate, is what the Danish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers intends to do with draft conclusions along these lines to be submitted to the EU27.
The idea of these conclusions that have been under preparation for several weeks now would be to give Ankara a series of conditions to be met, such as signing a re-admission agreement with the EU, complying with existing bilateral re-admission agreements or developing the fight against organised crime and terrorism. In exchange for meeting these conditions, the European Commission would open dialogue on visas, with the drafting of an action plan or roadmap. According to a Council source, ambassadors could come to an agreement on the content of these conclusions on 20 June and, if they do, then matters will progress relatively speedily, with the signing of an EU-Turkey re-admission agreement possible from next week on. The Commission, for its part, would then have the authorisation or mandate necessary to get down to the task of visa dialogue.
As things stand, a single country is said to be highly reticent, Cyprus. Other countries have expressed some reservation. France, however, to take one such country, states the last reserves could be lifted on Wednesday when conclusions are examined, the most important thing being to strike the best balance possible, as a spokesman for the French government has said.
Turkey had negotiated a re-admission agreement with the EU in early 2011 but had then refused to sign it in reaction to the refusal by member states to open up discussions on visas in exchange, something that Ankara has been requesting for years, feeling it is unjustly deprived. This lack of re-admission agreement between the EU and Turkey has been denounced on several occasions by the Greek authorities, which have been named and blamed for their failings to manage migratory flows but which have also come up against Turkey's refusal to take back Turkish nationals arriving in Greece. (SP/transl.jl)