EU to Simplify Visa Waver Suspension

BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union on Friday sought to make it easier to suspend its visa waiver program with countries, just as Turkey looks to secure visa-free travel for its citizens.

EU interior and migration ministers hope to seal agreement Friday on a so-called suspension mechanism that would apply to Georgia, Ukraine, Kosovo and Turkey.

Dutch Migration Minister Klaas Dijkhoff said the mechanism would go into action "if things are not going as planned on whatever country we're dealing with, when unexpected things happen."

The system would kick in to ensure security or if a country fails to readmit people who left its territory but are not allowed to stay in Europe.

Ministers and EU officials have been at pains to point out that the mechanism applies to all visa waiver countries so that Turkey does not feel targeted.

The EU has offered Turkey a visa waiver as incentive — along with up to 6 billion euros ($6.8 billion) for Syrian refugees and fast-track EU membership talks — to get it to stop migrants leaving for Europe and take back the thousands who have arrived in Greece from Turkey since March 20.

While the number of migrants arriving in the Greek islands has dropped significantly since that agreement came into effect, the EU believes that Ankara must do more.

"There's still work to be done when it comes to processing people and giving them an individual assessment of their claim to asylum, and then getting people readmitted to Turkey," said Dijkhoff, who is chairing the meeting in Brussels.

Under the migration agreement, the EU had pledged to grant a visa waiver to Turkey by June 30. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected an EU demand to narrow the scope of Turkey's anti-terror laws to end crackdowns on journalists and dissenters.

It appears that October might now be the earliest date by which Turkish citizens could be eligible for short-term visa-free visits to Europe.

"To get visa liberalization, it's important that they change their terrorism law. Mr. Erdogan says he doesn't want that, so that's a problem, no?" said Belgium's top migration official, Theo Francken.

(KA)