EU Committed to Resolve Visa Difficulties for Turkish Nationals, Bloc’s Envoy Says

The European Union is focusing on facilitating visa access for Turkish citizens, the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye, Thomas Ossowski said.

The ambassador to Ankara added that the bloc has a vested interest in fostering the exchange of people, much like Türkiye, Schengen.News reports. 

Ossowski told Anadolu Agency that many nationals of Türkiye are being subject to difficulties in securing visas, facing more scrutiny as well as long waiting times for appointment dates. 

This, according to him, leads to significant difficulties for businesspeople, students, academics, as well as other categories who want to travel to the EU countries.

He told AA that diplomatic missions of EU Member States are dealing with a congestion problem but stressed that the EU is working on very concrete steps on how to better manage the pressure on consulates and embassies of the EU countries. 

EU to Tighten Cooperation With Türkiye 
Earlier this month, the European Union Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, met with the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in Ankara, where the deepening of the cooperation in terms of visas was also discussed.

It is crucial that we work together on our shared priorities and deepen our cooperation on border management, the fight against migrant smuggling, and visas.President of EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen 

Last month, the Foreign Minister of Türkiye, Hakan Fidan, called on the European Union to accelerate the visa liberalisation talks, stressing that Turkish applicants are being subject to high Schengen visa rejection rates. 

Earlier this year, the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, said that his country is committed to strengthening connections with the EU. 

The Minister said that Turkish authorities will continue to work on accessing the EU in spite of the fact that some member states are blocking the process.

Türkiye began accession negotiations with the European Union in 2005. However, the talks were stalled in the last years therefore the process is yet to be finalized.

Source: https://schengen.news/eu-committed-to-resolve-visa-difficulties-for-turkish-nationals-blocs-envoy-says/