Turkey to meet visa liberalization criteria by Monday, EU minister says
| AA Photo


Legislation to meet European Union criteria on lifting of visas is expected to be complete on Monday, Turkey's Minister of European Union Affairs said.

Speaking in a live television broadcast on Thursday, Volkan Bozkır said that there are no obstacles on the way to visa liberalization and that both sides have been fulfilling their responsibilities under the EU-Turkey migration deal.

Bozkır continued by saying that the commission will publish a report on Thursday and Tuesday, May 3.

"If all goes well, we expect a decision recommending the lifting of visas on Tuesday" the EU minister said and added that he expects visa liberalization to go in effect by June.

Bozkır also warned once again that the readmission deal with EU will fail if visa liberalization is not carried out.

In April, Turkey began admitting illegal migrants trying to reach the European Union borders via the Aegean after March 20.

Under the EU-Turkey deal, Ankara will take back all migrants and refugees, including Syrians, who enter Greece illegally in return for the EU taking in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey.