A VERY SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP. Why Turkey’s EU Accession Process Will Continue
A VERY SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP. Why Turkey’s EU Accession Process Will Continue

Author(s): Author Not Specified
Subject(s): Inter-Ethnic Relations, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: ESI – European Stability Initiative
Keywords: Turkish EU-accession; visa-free travel;
Summary/Abstract: One area where the EU has discriminated against Turkey has been in the field of visa-free travel. This suggests an obvious way to show that EU conditionality vis-à-vis Turkey remains “strict but fair”: to offer Ankara a visa roadmap similar to that which has been given to Western Balkan countries. Once the roadmap requirements are met, Turkish citizens should be able to travel to the EU without a visa. Visa-free travel to the EU is a right enjoyed by Central Europeans (since the early 1990s) and by most people living in the Western Balkans (since 2009). The EU already promised it to Turkey under the 1963 Association Agreement. A credible visa liberalisation process would provide tangible evidence to ordinary citizens that the EU remains committed to a future integration perspective. It would also be a useful tool to advance the implementation of non-discrimination policies and promote further improvements in Turkey‟s human rights record, bringing down still high rates of asylum requests granted to Turkish citizens in EU member states. Such a reform process would be a win-win proposition for the EU and Turkey and a big shot in the arm for the accession process.

• Details
• Contents