Baku, Azerbaijan, May 10
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkey has fulfilled 67 out of 72 commitments to the European Union (EU) for canceling the visa regime, Turkey's Ministry for EU Affairs told Trend May 10.
The remaining five commitments are expected to be fulfilled by late May, said the ministry.
Canceling the visa regime with EU is one of the priorities for Turkey, according to the ministry.
"Once Ankara fulfills all its commitments, the EU will also have to keep its word, that's to say, to cancel the visa regime for Turkish citizens," said the Ministry for EU Affairs.
During his visit to Brussels May 10, Turkey's Minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir will discuss a number of issues with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz.
Earlier, the European Commission proposed the EU to cancel the visa regime with Turkey.
Commenting on the issue, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara has in fact fulfilled its commitments to the EU for cancelling the visa regime.
Earlier, Ankara cancelled the visa regime for the citizens of all 28 EU countries on May 3, but the visa-free regime will be effective after the EU cancels the visa regime for Turkish citizens.
It is expected that after Turkey fulfills all 72 commitments to the EU, the latter will cancel the visa regime for Turkish citizens.
After cancelling the visa regime, Turkish citizens will be able to stay without visa for three months in the following countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Greece.
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