In his opening speech, the President of IKV, Ömer Cihad Vardan stated that the visa procedure initiated against Turkish citizens as a “temporary precaution” by Germany in 1980 is still in force. Considering that Turkey has been conducting EU accession negotiations since 2005, it is an “unacceptable reality” for Turkey that this visa procedure is still applied although 34 years have passed since its first introduction.

The President of IKV stated that the visa requirements for Turkish citizens are against the spirit not only of Turkey’s EU integration process but also of the European integration itself. Vardan further explained that, according to the statistics delivered by the European Commission, Turkish citizens have paid in total 140 Million Euros for the application of short term C-type Schengen Visas between 2009 and 2012. Furthermore, Vardan also stressed that the European

Commission’s statistics for the year 2012 revealed that Turkish citizens ranked 5th among the countries that submit the highest amount of applications for the Schengen Visa.

“FINANCIAL AND MORAL BURDEN CAUSED BY THE VISA PROCEDURE FUELED THE PERCEPTION AMONG TURKISH CITIZENS THAT ‘THEY HAVE BECOME SUBJECT TO DISCRIMINATION’”

In his speech, the President of IKV, Ömer Cihad Vardan referred to the results of a research conducted by Henley&The Partners, an American Law Company. According to the “Visa Restriction Index”, Turkish citizens could travel without visa to 94 countries around the world in 2013. He further explained that “this number puts Turkish citizens at the 42nd rank in the world list and they share the same destiny as the citizens of St. Lucia which is an island located in Caribbean with a population of 160,000 inhabitants; whereas the citizens of EU Member States with which Turkey is conducting accession negotiations since 2005, are ranked higher up in the same list.” Vardan stressed that while EU citizens can travel without a visa to most of the countries around the world, Turkish citizens, for justifiable reasons develop a perception that “they have become subject to discrimination”. Along those lines, Vardan also stressed that the visa procedure and its associated problems play an important role in the decrease of Turkish citizens’ support vis-à-vis the EU.

VISA PROCEDURE CREATES AN UNFAIR COMPETITION”

The President of IKV, Vardan explained that although the importance of the civil society dialogue in relations with Turkey is frequently highlighted, there has been no tangible improvement until recently with regards to the free movement of persons, which is inherently at the core of the fundamental freedoms in the EU.

The President of IKV also emphasized that the visa procedure, not only raises difficulties for businessmen to establish new business contacts and conduct their existing business relations, but also constitutes a non-tariff barrier for trade, hence leading to unfair competition. The obligation for Turkish citizens to obtain a visa to enter EU Member States and the problems related to visa became a wide-reaching subject forcing judicial, political, diplomatic, bureaucratic, commercial, administrative, social, ethic and, most importantly the humanitarian norms and limitations.

“TURKEY AND THE EU BEGAN A NEW JOURNEY WITH THE VISA LIBERALISATION DIALOGUE”

The President of IKV, listed his expectations as a representative of the business community with regards to the visa liberalisation dialogue as “a fairly managed process; an integrated and encouraging approach towards Turkey as in the case of Balkan countries; and as a process that will end rapidly with the effective cooperation between parties and the realization of visa liberalisation”. Vardan further added that burden-sharing and cooperation between Turkey and the EU are of outmost importance for the effective implementation of the Readmission Agreement.

Following the opening remarks, the panel moderated by the Vice-President of IKV and Dean of Yeditepe University Faculty of Law Prof. Dr. Halûk Kabaalioğlu titled “Visa-free travel for Turkish nationals: Readmission and Beyond” took place. During the panel, the Chairman of European Stability Initiative (ESI), Gerald Knaus, ESI Senior Analyst, Alexandra Stiglmayer, Chairman of the International Transporters’ Association (UND) Executive Board, Fatih Şener and Deputy Secretary -General and Research Director of IKV, Melih Özsöz presented different perspectives regarding the visa and readmission issue.

IKV VICE-PRESIDENT, PROF. DR. HALÛK KABAALIOĞLU: “THE FOUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS ENVISAGED BY EU ARE ENSHRINED IN THE TURKEY-EU ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT”

The Vice-President of IKV and Dean of Yeditepe University Faculty of Law, Prof. Dr. Halûk Kabaalioğlu stated that he was the head of legal affairs at IKV when Germany introduced the visa requirement for Turkish citizens in 1980 and added that he prepared a judicial opinion on the visa issue  when he held this post. Kabaalioğlu further stated that when preparing the opinion, he analysed in detail the Turkey-EEC (European Economic Community) Association Agreement as well as its Additional Protocol signed in 1970 and emphasised that with regards to the four fundamental freedoms, Turkey-EU Association Agreement differs from the other Association Agreements. Vice-President Kabaalioğlu reminded that whilst the ultimate goal of the agreement is full membership, the four fundamental freedoms envisaged by the EU have also been enshrined in the Turkey-EU Association Agreement.

Prof. Dr. Kabaalioğlu pointed out that IKV has been following the whole debate closely since the very beginning; and has made an immense effort in bringing the issue to the attention of policy-makers, stimulating discussion, raising awareness and keeping it on the agenda. Kabaalioğlu further indicated that it is difficult to apprehend business people can send their goods to fairs held in EU Member States freely, whereas the businessmen that produce those goods themselves face the visa wall or fail to get their visa in a timely manner which is fundamentally important in order to attend their meetings and appointments. Prof. Dr. Kabaalioğlu also reminded that the number of documents required for visa application has reached an incredible size and stated that the IKV was able to get an insight into the visa issue through the “Visa Hotline Project” which was carried out in cooperation with European Citizens Action Service (ECAS) and supported by The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB).

EUROPEAN STABILITY INITIATIVE PRESIDENT, GERALD KNAUS: “THE TARGET DATE MUST BE 2016. THIS IS A TRUST ISSUE”

The Chairman of the ESI Gerald Knaus, who has conducted noteworthy research on visa and readmission issues, hinted at the existence of a new momentum regarding the visa issue on the EU side in 2014.

Knaus stated that the signature of the Readmission Agreement between the EU and Turkey in December 2013, the Korca decision of March 2014, the granting of visa-free travel for citizens of Moldova, and the green light given to visa free travel for the citizens of Ukraine and Georgia by the EU, can all be considered as positive signals from the EU. Furthermore, Knaus emphasised that since the number of Turkish citizens under the age of 24 exceeds 31 million, it is crucially important to lift visa requirements in order not to miss a generation who supports the EU membership.

ESI Chairman Knaus underscored the significant divergence in the rulings of European Court of Justice on Soysal Case and Demirkan Case. Along those lines, Knaus also stated that the ruling in March 2014 by the administrative court of Berlin in Germany on Korca Case has made “a new crack in the wall”, and added that even though the European Court of Justice ruled against Turkey in Demirkan Case, the local court in Berlin decided in the opposite way on a similar case.

Stating that Turkey needs to work on the necessary areas for visa liberalisation including the fulfilment of the requirements in the Readmission Agreement, Knaus highlighted that “[Turkey] needs to persuade European decision-makers and European public opinion. It is imperative to establish an atmosphere of trust”. Knaus further stated that in this context, it is of utmost importance that Turkey eliminates the existing fears in the minds of Europeans regarding issues such as illegal migration, refugees and asylum-seekers. In that respect, Knaus stressed that provided that Ankara manages to establish an atmosphere of trust, Turkey could gain the right of visa free travel for its citizens by 2016.

EUROPEAN STABILITY INITIATIVE SENIOR RESEARCHER, ALEXANDRA STIGLMAYER:“READMISSION IS KEY TO THE VISA DIALOGUE”

ESI Senior Researcher Alexandra Stiglmayer, who has conducted extensive research on the visa liberalisation process of West Balkan countries, presented an in depth analysis of the EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement. Stiglmayer pointed out that the most important part of the dialogue for visa liberalisation is the Readmission Agreement as well as the proper functioning of the readmission mechanism. Stiglmayer underscored that there has been a considerable decline in the number of illegal migrants who have entered the EU via Turkey. Referring to the reports issued by FRONTEX, ESI Senior Researcher Stiglmayer argued that even though the number of migrants that reach the EU through this route is still very high, a sharp decline compared to the past years is evidently observed. Furthermore, Stiglmayer indicated the existence of a strong cooperation between Turkey and Greece in this regard, and stated that the Readmission Agreement, unlike expected, will not cause the extradition of hundreds of thousands of refugees as evidenced in the cases of Ukraine and the West Balkan countries.

Stiglmayer also reminded that the decision on granting visa exemption for Turkish citizens will be approved by the European Parliament, which has so far been supportive and constructive in similar cases; and added that it will be enough for Turkey to gain the support of smaller states in the Council. She stated: “Acquiring the support of Germany, however, is imperative” and went on to say that the existence of a large Turkish community in Germany and the fact that Germany is Turkey’s most important trading partner, makes it even more important to gain Germany’s persuasion and its full support.

UND PRESIDENT, FATIH ŞENER: “FREIGHT TRANSPORTERS SHALL BE BESTOWED THE SAME RIGHTS AND RECOGNITION AS THE SEAFARERS”

Fatih Şener, the President of the Executive Board of UND, a prominent professional association representing the Turkish international road freight transportation sector, discussed the problem of non-tariff and discriminatory transport restrictions imposed upon professional road freight transporters registered in Turkey who intend to travel to the EU’s customs territory via highways in order to provide services; and argued that current practice of visa requirements for Turkish transporters and transit quotas applied to goods transport vehicles as well as the goods transported are a sign of implementation of non-tariff barriers.

Şener stated that “even though the lorry drivers are considered as ‘service providers’ in theory, they are still being subject to visa restrictions in practice”; and recalled that Turkish transporters who play a crucial role in Turkey’s foreign trade activities are subject to the same visa requirements as tourists who are obliged to provide invitation letters from EU Member States and 22 additional documents to obtain visa allowing 90 days of stay for the duration of 6 months. Given that, Şener reiterated the fact that the obstacle for Turkish transporters in acquiring visa is gradually growing, thus leaving over 150 drivers being refused entry at the EU borders.

Şener also mentioned that among the other conventions of International Labour Organisation (ILO) signed by Turkey, the ILO Convention concerning a transportation safety partnership (No.185), and the Convention on Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (No. 108) constitute a legal ground for the international recognition of seafarer’s national identity cards, making it possible for seafarers to carry out their duties without being subject to visa restrictions. In that respect, Şener stated that as a solution, freight transporters shall be bestowed the same rights and recognition as the seafarers.

IKV DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL AND RESEARCH DIRECTOR, MELIH ÖZSÖZ:“WITH THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE READMISSION AGREEMENT, TURKEY WILL EASE THE EU’S BURDEN OF FIGHT AGAINST ILLEGAL MIGRATION”

In his presentation, IKV Deputy Secretary-General and Research Director, Melih Özsöz, referred to various case studies examining the negative impacts of visa requirements applied to Turkish Nationals; and reiterated the fact that Turkish nationals in general and businessmen in particular have a negative perception of the EU owing to the current debates on visa issues. Özsöz also indicated that as much as the legal, commercial and political dimensions, the current practices on visa are also pushing to the boundaries of humanitarian norms and argued that the current practices on visa are against the very nature and spirit of Turkey-EU integration process.

IKV Deputy Secretary-General Özsöz, who discussed in detail the legal, commercial, political and humanitarian dimensions of the visa issue, also drew attention to the over 50 rulings of the European Court of Justice, the highest judicial body in Europe, in the last 27 years, concerning the rights of Turkish citizens situated in the EU territories; and stressed that when compiled together, these rulings constitute a significant ground for judicial case law.

IKV Deputy Secretary-General Özsöz, whilst referring the economic figures of the European Commission on visa expenditures, explained that Turkish nationals, in order to obtain short-term Schengen visas, have paid over 140 Million Euros between 2009-2012, in addition to the standard visa fee of 60 Euros, and other ‘hidden’ expenditures such as service charges of visa application centres, bank commission, shipment, health and travel insurance, PIN code charge for appointments. Furthermore, Özsöz gave some striking examples from the “Visa Hotline Project” conducted by IKV in cooperation with the European Citizens Action Services, and with support of TOBB.

On the other hand, IKV Deputy Secretary-General Özsöz underlined that the signing of the Readmission Agreement on 16 December 2013 has opened a new page for Turkish citizens with regards to their visa-free travel to Europe; and raised an imperative question: “With the entry into force of the Readmission Agreement Turkey will soon ease the EU’s burden of fight against illegal migration. What about Europe?” In relation to that, Özsöz reminded that there are still various issues concerning the readmission issue, waiting to be resolved.

In this context, IKV Deputy Secretary-General Özsöz emphasised that Turkey’s current refugee-intake capacity is quite limited; hence, raising numerous reservations with respect to the number of refugees to be extradited from Europe to Turkey; duration of their stay in Turkey; proof or evidence showing whether the concerning refugees had passed in transit to Europe from Turkey or not. Özsöz also reminded that Turkey is currently hosting over 1 million Syrian refugees and under the current circumstances Turkey is urgently in need of enhancing its refugee-intake capacity.

Last but not least, Özsöz stated that the expenditures associated with readmissions within this framework should be reciprocally shared by Turkey and the EU and stated that “Turkey’s main expectation from the EU is the management of this process in a facilitating, supportive and fair manner as the Union did in the case with the Western Balkan countries”.