MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The European Parliament has suspended its work in granting Turkish citizens visa-free travels to the European Union, citing Ankara’s lack of meeting all the criteria necessary for the changes, the EU observer reported Wednesday.
No visa liberalization w/o Turkey meeting critiera, eg re overbroad anti-terrorism law: MEPs https://t.co/H5qFcKoM2C pic.twitter.com/EDnkTNPDkZ
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) 11 May 2016
"[EU Parliament Chief Martin] Schulz said we will only start processing the file when the 72 criteria have been met," Judith Sargentini, a Dutch member of the European Parliament was quoted as saying by the news portal.
"Turkey has made impressive progress but there is still work to be done" — @TimmermansEU https://t.co/N2hIMzEMOQ https://t.co/NBBi7A4ubw
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) 4 May 2016
Most of the requirements have already been fulfilled by Ankara, though five problematic criteria remain, including the revision of Turkey’s national anti-terrorism laws and freedom of the press.
