Die Welt: The EU wants to limit visa-free regimes with Turkey and Ukraine
The EU wants to adopt a special agreement on visa-free travel to Turkey, which could be cancelled in case Ankara fails to comply with agreements on refugees. Such rules might be applied to the agreements with Ukraine, Welt am Sonntag wrote.
Scheduled for late July, the visa-free regime between the EU and Turkey will probably not have an unlimited nature. In the case of Ankara, unlike the current practice, the EU plans to conclude a special agreement on visa liberalization. This was requested by several EU countries, including Germany and France, the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag wrote on Sunday, April 17, citing informed sources in diplomatic circles of the EU.
"This agreement includes a so-called delay of action which could be activated in the event that Turkey does not comply with earlier agreements, such as the proper return of refugees from Greece, adequate protection of refugees in need or human rights," the source of the edition said.
This part of the agreement, if adopted, could provide a relatively quick cancellation of the already introduced visa-free regime. It will also be applied to the agreements on visa liberalization with Ukraine, Georgia and Kosovo, the newspaper stated.
The final decision on these innovations wasn't made yet, but approval is expected shortly. According to the publication, this theme will be discussed during the meeting of the Ministers of Internal Affairs of the EU in Luxembourg on April 21.
According to the reports in March, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has promised Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that the EU will present a proposal for visa-free travel between the EU and Ukraine in April. Doubts concerning the abolition of visas for Ukrainians arose after the referendum in the Netherlands. Later, however, Reuters, citing a source in the EU, said that the will of Netherlanders will not affect the fate of visa liberalization.