Turkey hopeful of overcoming EP's possible resistance on visa waiver
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Turkey’s EU Minister Volkan Bozkr has voiced optimism for overcoming possible resistance at the European Parliament over approval of lifting visa requirements for Turkish citizens after the European Commission said on May 4 thatAnkarahas met most of the necessary 72 criteria inviting member states and EU lawmakers to endorse the move by June 30. “The most difficult leg of this affair will be the European Parliament. The Commission’s proposal will first go to the Committee on Civil Liberties Justice and Home Affairs. After their approval it will go to the plenary. Every moment will require great effort. Perceptions at the parliament which we don’t deserve will have to be broken” Bozkr told reporters inAnkaraon May 4. He also recalled that he will be visiting Brussels and Strasbourg next week. “We will meet with European Parliament President [Martin Schulz] some group leaders and influential parliamentarians. If we can explain some things to them by establishing a mechanism for the flow of information then answers to questions that may arise will also be shaped. I believe there is no point that we cannot overcome” Bozkr said. Telephone contacts betweenAnkaraand Brussels on the night of May 3 focused on differences of opinion over the definition of “terrorism” in Turkish legislation the minister has also said as amendments to the Anti-Terror Law is one of the final five criteria that the government needs to fulfill in order to obtain the visa waiver for its citizens from the European Union. Meanwhile the Law on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters has gone into force after being published in the Official Gazette on May 5 reducing the number of remaining criteria that Turkey has to meet to four. Also on May 5 Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala and neighboring Bulgaria’s visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova inked a bilateral protocol between the governments of Bulgaria and Turkey regarding implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement on readmission of individuals who have illegally overstayed.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.