Merkel: Decision on EU-Turkey Visa Regime May Be Reached in Upcoming Weeks

The European Union and Ankara may reach an agreement on the visa-free EU travel for Turkish citizens in the coming weeks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — She made the comment after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, Reuters reported.

Two weeks ago, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the European Union can abolish visas for the Turkish nationals from October 1 if Ankara implements all the necessary conditions under the EU-Turkey migrant deal, including those related to the anti-terror laws.

In August, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned that Ankara would scrap the EU-Turkey migrant deal if Turkish nationals did not get visa-free access to EU borderless Schengen area by mid-October.

According to the deal agreed in March, Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who come ashore in Greece if EU countries have Syrian refugees resettled from Turkish camps on a one-for-one basis. The bloc also promised to accelerate the Turkish EU accession and introduce visa-free regime once Turkey had met the 72 conditions set by the bloc. Ankara has not fulfilled the five conditions that relate to data protection and anti-terror laws so far.