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The leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Ozgur Ozel, has criticised the EU over the strict Schengen visa rules that continue to apply to Turkish nationals.
Addressing Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament, Ozel said that the visa restrictions imposed on Turkish youngsters, businesspeople, and academics, among others, are unjust, Schengen.News reports.
Concerned with the current situation, Ozel called for these restrictions to end. The same stressed that the strict rules that the EU keeps in place for Turkish Schengen visa applicants are undermining the relationship between Türkiye and the EU.
In addition to the above-mentioned, Ozel argued that the EU should not perceive Türkiye as a country that is defined by only one person or one political party, calling for continued cooperation.
Turkish passport holders have been continuously complaining about strict Schengen visa rules, saying that they face long waiting times, limited appointments, and high rejection rates.
Taking into account numerous complaints and concerned about the obstacles that Turkish nationals face when wanting to reach the Schengen Area, the Ambassador of the EU to Türkiye, Thomas Ossowski, just recently said that visa facilitation is one of his main priorities.
Ambassador Ossowski said that “it is not good for people to wait so long to get a visa”, and at the same time noted that he has increased cooperation with Turkish authorities to develop a new visa facilitation perspective.
66% of Turkish Citizens Support EU Membership, Ozel Said
In addition to wanting facilitated visa rules and working on reaching a visa-free travel agreement with the EU, Türkiye has also been showing increased interest in becoming a member state of the bloc for years now.
According to Ozel, recent polls have shown that 66 per cent of Turkish citizens are in favour of the country gaining EU membership, Türkiye Today explains.
Moreover, Ozel stressed that Türkiye’s EU membership would be beneficial to both sides and said that the country is a strong and valuable partner.
The president of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also shares the same opinion. He just recently said that Türkiye’s EU membership process is a strategic priority.
Erdogan further highlighted that the EU’s security is unimaginable without Türkiye, suggesting that the country’s membership would strengthen borders of the bloc.
In December of last year, the EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the bloc is open to deepening the relationship with Türkiye and tightening cooperation on visa liberalisation.
Statistics from SchengenVisaInfo show that 1,055,885 Turkish passport holders applied for Schengen visas in 2023, with 867,646 being issued the document.
Source: https://schengen.news/turkiyes-main-opposition-party-leader-criticises-eu-over-strict-schengen-visa-rules/
