MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Under an agreement with the European Union, Turkey has to fulfill 72 conditions by the end of June in order for its citizens to be granted visa-free travel to the borderless Schengen Area.
A source in the German government told the Bild newspaper that Ankara was unlikely to meet the outstanding criteria – notably changing its controversially broad anti-terror laws – before the end of the year.
The free travel arrangement is part of an EU-Turkey pact on curbing the flow of refugees to Europe. Brussels also promised to speed up talks on Turkey’s entry to the 28-nation union in exchange for Ankara’s commitment to take back undocumented migrants.
