Turkey to submit final papers on visa free regime to EU

By Sorwar Alam and Meltem Bulur

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik said Wednesday that Ankara had finalized a draft document for Turkish citizens to travel to Schengen countries visa-free and would be submitting it to the EU Commission soon.

Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, Celik said, “We have completed the work [on visa liberalization]. These documents will be submitted to the EU Commission very soon.”

He said Ankara had fulfilled all of the obligations regarding visa liberalization.

“Turkey has met all 72 requirements for the deal,” he said, adding that Ankara had also proposed a summit between the EU and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) with the provisional date of June, 2018.

“Such a summit might be productive in terms of delivering a global message,” he noted.

Under a EU-Turkey readmission agreement signed in March 2016, Ankara is supposed to readmit all irregular asylum seekers who reach Greek islands from Turkey.

Visa liberalization for Turkish citizens traveling to Schengen zone countries is one of the key EU promises made under the deal.