Bağış: Turkey to ratify readmission agreement if EU launches visa talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's EU minister has said Turkey will ratify a readmission agreement on illegal immigration if the European Union launches visa facilitation talks with the candidate country in what has become one of the first remark to revive recently stalled EU-Turkey relations.

Egemen Bağış, who is also the chief EU negotiator, told the state-run Anatolia news agency that visa facilitation talks with the 27-member bloc will also be essential in fighting against illegal immigration.

Turkey complains that it still cannot find an interlocutor in Brussels that can start visa regulation consultations with the candidate country despite the fact that Turkey has concluded a readmission agreement with the European Union on illegal immigrants.

Turkey says it will not implement the agreement unless it starts visa talks with the bloc, claiming that all candidates or neighboring countries to the EU in some ways enjoy facilitation of visa requirements.

A recent border security report prepared by British Parliament's Home Affairs Committee said Turkey must improve border security before it is allowed to join the European Union, voicing concern about security risks and irregular immigration from neighboring Iraq, Iran and Syria.

Turkey dismissed what it called “incorrect assessments” in the report, stressing that “it is not a source country for illegal immigration with its vibrant economy and increasing prosperity,” Today’s Zaman reported.