Skip to main content
Sunday, November 1, 2026Nov 1
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

This story is free to read.

EU to move on ending visas for Turkish citizens

A child looks at migrants and refugees queueing for a food distribution at the Greek northern point of Idomeni, Greece, Tuesday, May 3, 2016. Many thousands of migrants remain at the Greek border with Macedonia, hoping that the border crossing will reopen, allowing them to move north into central Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A child looks at migrants and refugees queueing for a food distribution at the Greek northern point of Idomeni, Greece, Tuesday, May 3, 2016. Many thousands of migrants remain at the Greek border with Macedonia, hoping that the border crossing will reopen, allowing them to move north into central Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) A child looks at migrants and refugees queueing for a food distribution at the Greek northern point of Idomeni, Greece, Tuesday, May 3, 2016. Many thousands of migrants remain at the Greek border with Macedonia, hoping that the border crossing will reopen, allowing them to move north into central Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

By Associated Press 1 min read

BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union is poised for a big step Wednesday toward ending visa requirements for Turkish citizens as a widely criticized deal to get Turkey to stop migrants entering the EU gathers pace.

The EU’s executive Commission is expected to invite member states and lawmakers to vote before the end of June to lift visas on Turks for short-term leisure or business stays. As of March 4, Turkey had met only around half of the 72 conditions attached to the deal, and lawmakers wonder how Turkey closed the gap in just eight weeks.

The Commission on Tuesday lauded a decree from Ankara to grant visa-free travel in Turkey to the citizens of all 28 EU member states as meeting “one more of the important benchmarks” for visa liberalization.