Mandating visas from Turkish citizens is unacceptable and shameful, according to the head of the European Union delegation to Türkiye.
“Citizens of Colombia, which has a drug problem, or Georgia, which has troubled ties with the EU and even Venezuela, can travel to the EU without a visa,” said Ambassador Hans Ossowski in an interview with Turkish journalists in Brussels on Monday.
"In Türkiye, people wait for months, sometimes a year, to find a visa appointment,” he said.
"We must restart the visa liberalization process," Ossowski said, adding, "We have made an honest offer to the Turkish government."
Türkiye has been a candidate for EU membership for over two decades, but talks stalled in 2016 over what Ankara says is the bloc’s “insistence on politicizing the issue.”
Türkiye suggests it has fulfilled most of the criteria for membership. Though the accession process stalled, the country has remained a key economic and defense partner for the 27-member bloc.
"Türkiye has fulfilled 66 out of 74 criteria,” Ossowski echoed. “Let's work on the remaining six criteria."
The European Commission’s enlargement and Türkiye reports for 2024 marked Ankara’s progress in certain areas of its membership criteria and key developments in bilateral ties.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was invited to the Gymnich meeting after five years, earlier this year, which conveyed to Brussels Ankara’s determination on membership and capabilities for cooperation with the EU on foreign policy, security, and defense.
Turkish officials say EU membership is strategic for Türkiye, which expects the EU to lift restrictions, revive high-level dialogue, update the customs union and facilitate the visa process until full visa liberalization.
However, the rejection rates for Turkish applicants have steadily increased since 2014, when the average rejection rate for Türkiye was 4.4%. By 2021, the rejection rate reached 16.9% during the pandemic, higher than the global average of 13.4%. In 2022, the rejection rate for Turkish applicants was 15.7%, compared to 17.9% globally.
In 2023, the number of Turkish citizens applying for Schengen visas reached over 1 million, with more than 48,000 applications being rejected. In 2024, denials stood at 14.5%, indicating a limited but measurable improvement.
Ankara believes the rejections are due to a shortage of staff in European consulates and the rising political tensions toward immigrants in Western countries, particularly in light of growing concerns about migration issues in the EU.
Despite the challenges, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that the visa issue is part of a broader political and diplomatic situation between Türkiye and EU member states.
“This is not just an issue between Türkiye and the EU. It’s a broader trend seen globally, and we are investigating if this is a case of special treatment toward us or just part of the general policy toward all countries,” Fidan said last November.
The call for visa liberalization and customs union updates remains central to Türkiye's foreign policy objectives. The government hopes that through continued diplomatic engagement, it will be able to secure better conditions for its citizens who wish to travel, study and work in Europe.
Despite the lack of recent progress on visa liberalization and customs union agreement, the EU and Türkiye have maintained their strategic partnership, particularly in trade, security and defense.
Türkiye’s customs union with the EU, which came into force in 1995, is the only agreement between the EU and a non-member country. However, it is currently limited to industrial goods and processed agricultural products.
The customs union has significantly boosted trade between the two sides, raising the bilateral trade volume from $30 billion in 1995 to nearly $200 billion in 2022. However, Türkiye has pushed for an updated agreement that includes services, agricultural goods and public procurement.
The Turkish government is also eager to improve its relations with the EU in light of the broader geopolitical challenges in the region.
