EU Commission proposes visa-free travel for Turkish citizens

BRUSSELS -- The European Commission here on Wednesday proposed to the European Parliament and Council of the European Union to lift the visa requirements for the citizens of Turkey.

According to a Commission press release, the proposal was presented together with a report on progress by Turkey in fulfilling the requirements of visa liberalization, under the understanding that Turkish authorities will fulfill its "outstanding benchmarks."

European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said that Turkey has made "impressive progress, particularly in recent weeks, on meeting the benchmarks of its visa liberalization roadmap."

"There is still work to be done as a matter of urgency but if Turkey sustains the progress made, they can meet the remaining benchmarks. This is why we are putting a proposal on the table which opens the way for the European Parliament and the member states to decide to lift visa requirements, once the benchmarks have been met," he said.

The Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said that "the Turkish authorities have made remarkable progress since the March 18 EU-Turkey Summit and we trust Turkey is committed to delivering on all fronts as soon as possible," adding that the Commission will continue to monitor the continuous fulfilling of these criteria.

Visa liberalization for Turkey is a key component of the EU-Turkey statement of March 18 which stated that the fulfillment of the visa liberalization roadmap will be accelerated with a view to lifting the visa requirements for Turkish citizens at the latest by the end of June 2016, provided that all benchmarks have been met.

In order to meet a June deadline for adoption by the co-legislators, a Commission proposal to put Turkey on the visa-free list has to be tabled at the beginning of May to allow an eight-week period to elapse between a draft being made available to national Parliaments and its adoption.

The European Union launched the visa liberalization dialogue with Turkey on Dec. 16, 2013. 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 72 requirements listed in the roadmap are organized in five thematic groups: document security, migration management, public order and security, fundamental rights and readmission of irregular migrants.