Brussels, 21/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - The member states paved the way, in Luxembourg on Thursday 21 June, for a visa-free regime for Turkish citizens when the EU Council of Ministers formally adopted the agreement approved the previous day by the Coreper. The agreement, drafted by the Danish Presidency of the Council of Ministers, recommends that the European Commission open negotiations with Ankara on visa liberalisation, though Turkey will first have to sign the agreement with the EU on the readmission of its nationals, negotiated in February 2011 but left un-initialled by Turkey.
Conditions were set before Turkey can be granted the visa-free regime it has been calling for: these conditions range from making efforts effectively to address the issues of illegal migration, organised crime and terrorism, to compliance with existing bilateral readmission agreements and full cooperation with all member states, including Cyprus, which had severe reservations about this agreement. It will now be for the Commission to prepare an action plan to move this issue forward. Traditionally, the Commission requires a number of reforms to be put in place, such as safeguards in documents, border management and data protection.
In general, the Commission maps out five or six areas for reform, according to a Council source, reforms which it assesses as they progress. It is difficult, therefore, to set a precise timescale. For Balkan countries such as Serbia and Montenegro, it took more than two years for the visa-free regime to become reality, the Commission notes. Each situation, however, is different and Turkey has gone straight for visa liberalisation, the Council source continued, unlike other countries which first tested the water with a “facilitation” phase, that is, a system where certain categories of people are exempted from the visa requirement. Turkey's decision could mean that it will take longer for it to achieve the visa-free regime.
In the meantime, Turkey could sign the readmission agreement with the EU as early as next week, a source said on Tuesday 19 June. The signing of the agreement is of crucial importance to the EU and to some countries, such as Greece, which has been castigated by the other member states for its failure to require Turkey to take back its migrants. Turkey has become a hub for illegal immigration into the Schengen area, with migrants crossing the border into Greece before trying to move on to other EU countries. (SP/transl.rt)