Ankara resumes work on visa liberalization with the EU

Turkey has begun work on fulfilling the six remaining criteria for visa liberalization with the European Union, said the country's vice president Cevdet Yilmaz, emphasizing that Ankara expects similar political will from European countries.

Turkey and the EU began dialogue on visa liberalization in 2013. To transition to a visa-free regime, Ankara needs to fulfill six out of 72 criteria: change legislation on the fight against terrorism, conclude an agreement with Europol, fulfill the recommendations of the Group of States of the Council of Europe against corruption, bring laws on the protection of personal data to EU standards, cooperate with the EU on issues related to crime, and fully comply with the readmission agreement.

According to Yilmaz, one of the most important issues remains bringing legislation on the protection of personal data into compliance with European standards. On this issue, as the vice president noted, with the participation of the Turkish Ministry of Justice, a scientific commission was created that carried out the corresponding work.

"To the discussion were also attracted the ministries of foreign affairs, justice and internal affairs of Turkey. Within the framework of the commission's work, a new approach to the legislative regulation of personal data protection was considered. We need to see political will in Europe, since on their part they also must take certain steps," Yilmaz stated in an interview with CNN Türk.