Visa-Free Regime With Turkey May Increase Terrorist Risk in EU

The introduction of a visa-free regime with Turkey as part of the migration deal might raise the possibility of terrorist attacks in the European Union, a European Commission report warned.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The proposed visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens travelling to the EU could potentially have an impact on the terrorist risk in the EU in as far as the movement of terrorists of Turkish citizenship to and from the Schengen area is concerned, an extract from the report, seen by The Telegraph newspaper, reads. 

Criminals could also take advantage of the unrestricted entry to the European Union to pursue their own goals, including through drug trafficking, importing illegal firearms and people smuggling into Europe, the report revealed.

"It can be expected that, as soon as Turkish citizens will obtain visa-free entry to the EU, foreign nationals will start trying to obtain Turkish passports in order to pretend to be Turkish citizens and enter the EU visa free, or use the identities of Turkish citizens, or to obtain by fraud the Turkish citizenship. This possibility may attract not only irregular migrants, but also criminals or terrorists," the report stressed.

In mid-March, the European Union and Ankara agreed on a deal under which Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who arrive in the European Union through its territory in exchange for legal Syrian refugees currently residing in Turkey, on a one-for-one basis. In return, the 28-member bloc pledged to accelerate Turkey’s EU accession bid and introduce a visa-free regime between Turkey and the Schengen area.

Turkey is yet to meet five out of the 72 total requirements, notably those related to data protection and anti-terrorism laws, among other issues.