Brussels, 05/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 5 April, the European commissioners for enlargement and home affairs, Stefan Füle and Cecilia Malmström respectively, hailed the adoption by the Turkish parliament the previous day of a new law on foreigners and obtaining international protection.
This law comes at a time when Turkey forms part of the countries making great efforts to welcome Syrian refugees. This new law “will be crucial for migration control”, Füle tweeted. In his opinion, the future of the dialogue on the visa regime requested by Ankara will depend on the implementation of this law.
Ankara has been calling for years for a visa-free regime for its nationals wanting to visit the EU, but the EU has set a series of conditions in place which must first be fulfilled - in particular, the signing of an agreement on Ankara's readmission of its migrants. The Commission says that adoption of this law is certainly “a clear sign of Turkey's efforts to establish a sound legal and institutional framework for migration and asylum”. The draft adopted provides for Ankara to build a system in line with EU and international standards.
The agreement gives responsibility for managing immigrants to a special public body rather than the police under the vague rules of the past that were regularly criticised by human rights groups. It put a six-month cap on the holding of foreigners in detention centres before they are removed from the country and states that holding people in such centres must only be done where necessary and must be re-assessed by the authorities every month. There must also be the option of challenging such detentions in court. Detainees will be entitled to free care and will have the right to consult a lawyer and a representative of the consulate of their country of origin or the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (HCR). (SP/transl.fl)