The European Union Commission will send a delegation to Turkey on May 31 to discuss visa exemption criteria that did not meet EU standards. According to a news report published yesterday, the EU delegation will be chaired by Simon Mordue, EU Commission Deputy Director-General for Migration and Internal Affairs. The delegation will focus on technical issues such as private data protection laws and operational cooperation with the EU police organization, Europol. The EU commission is not negative with regard to the documents presented by Turkey, but some changes are expected, according to Hürriyet daily's report.

The EU's attitude towards the documents submitted by Turkey has not seen a significant change so far. Proposals and requests that the EU delegation will bring to the table will be decisive in terms of tangible results from the talks, reports say.

Among the proposals subject to negotiation, the terrorism laws, which are a problem between Turkey and EU, will be discussed again. Another topic with the potential to create problems is the protection of private data. Other criteria to be discussed are the signing of an operational cooperation agreement with the EU police organization Europol, the fight against corruption, cooperation in criminal matters and the Readmission Agreement.

The issue of EU-compatible passports is expecting to be lifted after Turkey's attempts to reform passports. According to reports, the seven criteria that did not meet EU standards will decrease to six after the Turkish passport reform.

In March 2016, Turkey and the EU signed a deal to stem the irregular migration flow via the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving conditions for nearly 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey. The deal also pledged an acceleration in Turkey's EU membership bid and a visa-free regime for Turkish nationals traveling to the Schengen area, given Ankara met some 72 requirements set by the EU.

The EU has said that Turkey has completed 69 of the listed criteria, but needs to change its terrorism laws. Changes to Turkey's anti-terror law remain the most contentious criteria for visa liberalization. The EU demands that Turkey, which is fighting against multiple terrorist organizations, soften its definition of terrorism.