Expert says EU tries to delay creation of visa-free regime with Turkey
The European Union (EU) will seek to delay the creation of a visa-free regime with Turkey, Timofey Bordachev, director of the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies (CCEIS), told Trend.
Bordachev noted that the EU will unlikely open its doors for Turkish citizens in the near future, since it is the only lever of pressure of Europe on Turkey.
The cancellation of the visa regime would simplify the access of Turkish citizens to the EU labor market and would become the first step for the country's accession to the EU, according to the expert.
Earlier, Turkey's Ministry for EU Affairs said that the country has fulfilled 67 out of 72 commitments to the European Union (EU) for cancelling the visa regime,
The remaining five commitments are expected to be fulfilled by late May, said the ministry.
President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker previously said that the EU may introduce a visa-free regime with Turkey in the autumn of 2016, if Ankara implements all the necessary requirements.
The Association Agreement between the EU and Turkey was signed in 1963. Ankara filed an application for the EU membership in 1987, but the negotiations on Ankara's accession to the EU started only in 2005.
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