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IMPACT – HIGH
What is the change? The European Commission on Wednesday recommended that the European Union grant Turkish citizens visa-free travel to the Schengen area as part of a deal on the refugee crisis.
What does the change mean? Even though Turkey has not met 72 benchmarks set as conditions to the visa waiver, the proposal paves the way for EU member states to lift visa requirements once the remaining benchmarks are met. If the EU approves the visa waiver, Turkey has approved reciprocal visa-free travel for EU nationals (including Greek Cypriots) visiting Turkey.
Background: Under a deal reached in March, Turkey agreed to resettle migrants who had illegally crossed into Greece through Turkey and to prevent further irregular crossings. In exchange, the EU agreed to financially assist Turkey in resettling refugees and to grant visa-free travel to Turkish nationals visiting the Schengen region. At that time, Turkey had not met 72 benchmarks under the visa liberalization roadmap, potentially delaying the June 30 target date for visa-free travel. Turkey threatened to withdraw from its end of the deal if the EU did not grant the visa waiver.
The Commission indicated today that Turkey had made “impressive progress” in meeting the goals. The areas that remain unfulfilled include human rights reforms and biometric passports.
BAL Analysis: Since the March agreement, the number of refugees reaching Europe has dropped considerably, providing incentive for the EU to follow through with its agreement to eliminate visas for Turkish citizens even without Turkey having fully met the roadmap’s requirements. If approved by the European Parliament and member states, visa-free travel between Turkey and most of Europe could be available in approximately two months. While visa-free travel greatly assists employers and businesses operating in or transacting with Turkey, it also plays to the political rhetoric of the Brexit campaign and other Eurosceptics who fear an enlarged Europe and greater visa liberalization, particularly in that region.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in the United Kingdom. For additional information, please contact uk@bal.com.
Copyright © 2016 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
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