The visa liberalization for Turkish people, which began between Turkey and the European Union in efforts to provide an opportunity for the integration of populations by signing the Re-admission Agreement in Ankara on Dec. 16, 2013, would benefit the EU, according to experts from one of the world's most prominent think tanks, The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF). The agreement, which was ratified on Oct. 14, is "likely to enhance tourism, which, in turn will contribute to the growth of local economies," according to the analysis published by Kemal Kirişci and Sinan Ekim. The "EU-Turkey Visa Liberalization and Overcoming the 'Fear of Turks': The Security and Economic Dimensions" analysis by Kirişci and Ekim has also emphasized the fact that there are concerns that the decision to liberalize visas for Turkish nationals might become politicized. During the signature ceremony of the agreement, which was held with then foreign minister, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, said, "Turkey is historically and geographically a part of Europe and through this agreement the Turkish and European public will start interacting intensively." In regards to the readmission agreement with the EU after years of negotiations, EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozkır said back in November 2014 that the EU commission's first report on Turkey's visa liberalization process, which was published in October, was positive.The visa liberalization for Turkish nationals is expected to promote the freer movement of Turkish business people, who are likely to forge greater economic activity between the EU and Turkey, according to the analysis penned by Kemal Kirişci, who is a senior fellow at TÜSIAD and director of the Center on the United States and Europe's Turkey Project at Brookings, and Sinan Ekim, a research assistant at the Istanbul Policy Center. The Turkish economy, which has doubled in size since 2004, while the foreign trade ratio increased threefold, is expected to further grow with the visa liberalization, according to experts. The article states that while the agreement "facilitates greater academic, cultural and educational contacts between Turkey and the EU," Europe still has the perception that Turkish citizens would migrate to the EU in large numbers. However, as stated in the analysis, due to a dramatic fall in asylum applications, refusal of entries and illegal presence, it is "difficult to claim that Turkish nationals constitute a threat." Under the readmission agreement, Turkey will have to take back Turkish nationals found to be illegally living in the EU as well as after a transitional period of three years, irregular third-country nationals if there is evidence that they reached the EU via Turkey. Bozkır during his official visit to Luxembourg in November 2014 emphasized that the number of illegal immigrants who tried to enter Europe via Turkey dropped significantly from last year's figure of 100,000 to 3,000 this year as part of fulfilling EU requirements.The GMF analysis also claims that the visa liberalization would help in two different ways. The first is having "Turkish business people traveling to the EU freely after long resented customs union practice that allows their goods to travel but not them." The article continues by stating that, "Greater access to the EU would also enable them to import as much as export, and thus enhance their contribution to the EU's economic growth." In addition, the second way in which the liberalization of visas would be beneficial is related to the increased number of Turkish citizens traveling abroad due to Turkey's rising GDP per capita. "In this regard, Greece has set a remarkable precedent by introducing a "pilot-visa agreement," which allows the country to take advantage of the high volume of Turkish tourism… this has helped the Greek economy in difficult times, demonstrating the benefits that could be derived from a more liberal visa approach for Turkish nationals," emphasizes the analysis.For an effective and successful visa liberalization process, the article also adds that "the Turkish government has to recognize that ensuring political stability and reforming its economy to help it return to its dynamic performance of the previous decade will be critical to allaying the European 'fear of Turks.' Additionally, the process with Turkey will be monitored by the European Commission after three years and after fulfillment of all EU requirements, the commission will decide to allow visa-free travel or not."