Council of EU Starts Formalization of Visa-Free Regime With Turkey - Source

Experts of the Council of the European Union started drawing up a visa-free regime between the 28-nation bloc and Turkey, a source in the Council of the European Union told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — Ankara and Brussels are in talks on the issue of visa liberalization. Last week, the European Commission recommended that the European Parliament vote on visa-free regime for Turkey once the country meets all 72 required conditions.

"Yesterday, the experts commenced the required legislative activities on the proposal of the European Commission," the source said.

In mid-March, Brussels 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 Syrian refugees accommodated in Turkey, on a one-for-one basis. In return, the 28-member bloc pledged to accelerate the Turkish EU accession bid and introduce a visa-free regime between Turkey and the Schengen area.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for European Parliament President Martin Schulz said that the parliament would start the legislative process on providing EU visa-free regime for Turkish citizens when Ankara met all related requirements of Brussels, including such criteria, as the revision of Turkey’s national anti-terrorism laws and adoption of additional measures to tackle corruption.