Visa-Free Regime for Turkey - a Dilemma for the EU

• 05.04.2016, 12:06
•  Europe

worldseo.net

The European Commission will give conditional approval for Turks to travel without visas to Europe's passport-free Schengen area, BBC informs.

The move is part of a deal in which Turkey is taking back migrants, who have crossed over the Aegean Sea to Greece.

However, Turkey should still meet EU criteria, and the deal should be approved by the European Parliament and member states.

In order the EU make a decision for the abolition of visa-regime for Turks, Turkey in total should fulfill 72 paragraphs of the EU requirements, whereas in the middle of April, the representative of the European Commission reported that Turkey implemented less than half of the requirements only. The most problematic issues for Turkey are the EU’s claims of the freedom of speech and fair trials. In addition, Turkey needs to revise laws on anti-terrorism to protect the rights of the minorities.

Besides, human rights activists claim that Turkey cannot be considered a safe country for the deported refugees.

BBC asserts that it is unlikely for Turkey to implement those requirements. The Turkish authorities smooth critics in an autocratic rather than democratic way.  However, in these desperate times the authorities of the EU countries are under enormous pressure of the public, who requires to solve the migration crisis.

Thus, the EU really faces a great dilemma. On the one hand it hardly ever wants and as BBC puts it "hold its breath" when signing a deal with Turkey, but on the other hand it simply has no other choice and alternative than to take this desperate step.