Turkey draws roadmap to speed up EU visa liberalization

Ankara has decided to accelerate the process of visa liberalization with the European Union.

A road map outlining the steps to meet the remaining seven criteria for the visa liberalization agreement was drafted during a meeting between Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Ömer Çelik, Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.

The road map will be presented to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose approval is needed to proceed with the implementation of the plan.

Changes to Turkey's anti-terror law remain the most contentious criteria for the visa liberalization. The EU demands that Turkey, which is fighting against multiple terrorist organizations, soften its definition of terrorism.

Other criteria include the introduction of biometric passports and an operational co-operation agreement with the EU police service Europol.

If the roadmap is approved by Erdoğan, Çavuşoğlu will present it at the EU Foreign Ministers summit on Dec. 12 in Brussels.

Last March, Turkey agreed to stop illegal migrants crossing into Greece in exchange for financial aid for the refugees in its care, visa-free travel for Turkish citizens to Europe, and accelerated EU membership talks.

The EU has a list of 72 criteria for pushing through visa-free travel for Turkish nationals under the landmark.

Five of these "benchmarks" remain outstanding, according to the EU executive's assessment. The 28 EU member states and the European Parliament must also approve the visa scheme.

Turkey has previously warned Brussels that Ankara would stop fulfilling its side of the migrant deal — which has seen the numbers making dangerous crossings across the Aegean Sea fall sharply — if the EU's promises are not kept.