REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on progress by Turkey in fulfilling the requirements of its visa liberalisation roadmap
Date: 2014-10-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU visa policy, Schengen Information System, Türkiye, biometrics, identity document, migration control, public order













EUR-Lex - 52014DC0646 - EN











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52014DC0646

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on progress by Turkey in fulfilling the requirements of its visa liberalisation roadmap /* COM/2014/0646 final */









1. INTRODUCTION
On 21 June 2012, when Turkish
authorities initialled the text of the EU-Turkey readmission agreement they had
been negotiating with the European Commission since 2005, the Council of the
European Union adopted conclusions in which it invited the European Commission ‘in
parallel to the signature of the readmission agreement between Turkey and the
EU, to take steps towards visa liberalisation as a gradual and long-term
perspective’. The European Parliament also recommended this approach to the
Commission in its resolution of 18 April 2013 on the 2012 progress report on
Turkey.
The EU-Turkey readmission agreement was
signed on 16 December 2013. In parallel, the EU and Turkey launched a visa
liberalisation dialogue. The aim of this dialogue is to move towards ending the
visa requirement for Turkish citizens travelling to the Schengen area for a short-term
visit.
While the dialogue is underway,
the European Commission is examining relevant Turkish legislation and
administrative practices. This is done on the basis of the ‘Roadmap towards the visa-free regime
with Turkey’, a
document produced by the Commission in close consultation with relevant experts
from EU Member States. It sets out the benchmarks the Commission will use to
decide whether and when it will be appropriate to propose to the Council and
the European Parliament that the visa requirement currently imposed on Turkish
citizens be lifted, by amending Regulation (EC) No 539/2001.
The requirements in the Roadmap are grouped
into five blocks: document security, migration management, public order and
security, fundamental rights and readmission of irregular migrants.
The Commission will report regularly to
the Council and the Parliament on Turkey’s progress in fulfilling the Roadmap requirements.
These reports will also serve as guidance to the Turkish authorities on the
specific areas which need to be addressed. In order to prepare this first
report, the Commission carried out several visits to Turkey between 16 March
and 20 June 2014 to collect information on legislation and procedures in the
areas covered by the Roadmap. The Commission was assisted by the EU Delegation
in Turkey, and by experts from EU Member States and the relevant EU agencies (Frontex,
Europol, EASO).
This report examines the state of play
and progress under every benchmark and provides the Commission’s assessment on
whether Turkey fulfils the requirements set out in the roadmap.
The following progress assessments are made
per benchmark:

 ‘requirement fulfilled’;
 ‘almost fulfilled’(i.e. only
     some limited work still needs to be done to entirely fulfil the
     requirement);
 ‘fulfilled partially, but with
     good prospects for further progress’, (i.e. much work still needs to
     be done, but the results achieved and the work done by the Turkish
     authorities are substantial, and developments so far are encouraging);
 ‘only partially fulfilled’ (i.e.
     much work still needs to be done to fulfil the requirements of the
     benchmark, no particular positive developments to address them were observed);
 ‘requirement not fulfilled’.(i.e.
     Turkey is far from meeting this benchmark).

In all the areas where the Commission
assesses that the requirements of a benchmark are not yet entirely fulfilled,
the report provides some suggestions on measures which, in the Commission’s opinion,
would help to address the weaknesses identified.
In conclusion, it should be reminded that
this report focusses on the Turkey's performance in fulfilling the benchmarks
of the 'Roadmap towards the visa free regime', which were set with the purpose
of identifying the conditions allowing to make progress in a safe manner
towards visa liberalisation. This report, therefore, is not intended to assess
the overall progress made by Turkey in preparing for EU membership: this
remains the subject of the 'Progress Report on Turkey', which is annually
presented by the Commission, and whose last edition was published on 8 October 2014[1]. 
2. BLOCK 1: DOCUMENT SECURITY
2.1. General assessment
Turkey has kept up with technical and
policy developments in the international community in the area of travel and
identity documents, and is planning to take additional steps forward. Turkey
does not yet entirely fulfil all the requirements of Block 1 of the Roadmap, but
it is already well advanced in addressing most of them, and has the technical
capacity to reach this objective, provided that the relevant reforms and
technical arrangements are put in place in good time.   
2.2. Detailed comments on the benchmarks
in the document security block
Ø  Turkey
should continue issuing machine readable biometric travel documents in
compliance with ICAO standards and follow ICAO recommended practice, phasing
out of any non-ICAO compliant passports, and gradually introducing
international passports with biometric data, including photo and fingerprints,
in line with the EU standards, especially Council Regulation 2252/2004;
In
line with the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO), in 2010, Turkish authorities stopped issuing non-ICAO compliant
passports (i.e. passports which do not include any biometric data) and started
issuing only ICAO compliant passports (i.e. passports including very strong security
features and some biometric data; in Turkey’s case, a digital photo showing the
holder’s face). A few Turkish non-ICAO compliant passports are still
circulating, but all of these will expire by 25 November 2015.
The
Turkish authorities have not yet started to introduce passports in line with
the standards set by the EU Council Regulation 2252/2004 (i.e. passports
including very strong security features and several pieces of biometric data,
including fingerprints as well as a digital photo). The Commission recommends
that Turkish authorities start systematically issuing new passports that include
the fingerprints of the passport holder.  
This
would be technologically possible for the Turkish authorities, as they already
systematically collect and store fingerprints of all citizens applying for a
passport (although these are  not, to date, included in the
passport chip). Therefore the Commission considers that this benchmark is fulfilled
partially, but with good prospects for further progress.
Ø  Implement
appropriate administrative measures ensuring the integrity and security of the
personalisation and distribution and validation process for international
passports and other breeder documents;
The
system in place in Turkey is in line with ICAO standards and appears reliable,
efficient and solid.
Nevertheless,
the Commission considers that this requirement is only almost fulfilled;
as during the expert missions some weaknesses were noted, which, although minor,
deserve attention to avoid creating problems in the future.
In
particular, the way in which expired passports are destroyed by the police should
be improved, so as to further reduce the quantity of physical parts of the
document which may be fraudulently re-used to forge false passports. It is also
recommended that  the security of the storage facility for blank passports in
Ankara be strengthened.
Ø  Establish
training programmes and adopt ethical codes on anti-corruption targeting the
officials of any public authority that deals with visas, breeder documents or
passports;
Adequate
procedures, training and control systems are in place in Turkey. The Commission
therefore considers that this benchmark is fulfilled.
Ø  Promptly
and systematically report to Interpol/LASP database on lost and stolen
passports  ;
The
system in place for meeting this requirement appears to be adequate. Therefore
the Commission considers that this benchmark is fulfilled.
Ø  Ensure
a high level of security of breeder documents and ID cards and define strict
procedures surrounding their application and issuance;
The
identity cards currently in circulation are not, physically, very secure
documents and are relatively easy to falsify. However, the probability of false
identity cards being used in administrative procedures, including issuing a
passport, is negligible. This is due to the existence of a solid and reliable
civil registry system in Turkey, in which all citizens are registered and given
an identification number. This system, managed effectively by the Population
Department in the Ministry of the Interior, and its electronic database
(MERNIS), which all relevant Turkish authorities can consult, provide a
reliable basis for identifying Turkish citizens.
A
weakness in the current system is that identity cards are issued with indefinite
validity, so the picture of the holder may become obsolete in the course of
time. In the absence of a reliable picture, in some cases it could be  very
difficult to be certain whether a person showing an identity card is actually
its legitimate holder.  
As
a result, the Commission considers this Roadmap requirement almost fulfilled.
In
order to completely fulfil the requirement, the Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities introduce provisions ensuring that no identity card may continue to
be valid if its picture becomes out-of-date. Alternative means to achieve an
equivalent result would be to introduce a time limit on the validity of
existing identity cards, or to replace them with a new card that includes
biometric data from the holder which do not risk becoming obsolete.
Ø  Regularly
exchange passport specimens, visa forms and information on false documents, and
cooperate on document security with the EU;
Several Member States already report regularly
receiving passport specimens from the Turkish authorities. However, no Member
State has reported receiving information about falsified travel documents
detected by the Turkish authorities. Therefore the Commission considers that this
requirement is only partially fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities provide all EU Member States with regular and timely information on
passport specimens and visa forms issued by Turkey.
It also recommends that they share timely
information with all Member States on false travel documents and visas detected
by the Turkish law enforcement agencies and travel companies operating in
Turkey. In that respect, particular focus should be placed on detections at
Istanbul’s ‘Atatürk’ airport, which has become now a key point of departure and
transit for passengers travelling to the EU.
The Turkish authorities are also
encouraged to develop mutual assistance and operational cooperation with the EU
Member States, and particularly with EU Member State police liaison officers
deployed in Turkey, to improve the capacity of both Turkish and EU Member State
law enforcement agencies to detect false travel documents and visas.  
Ø  Adopt
and implement measures ensuring the integrity and security of the civil status
and civil registration process, including the integration and linking of the
relevant databases and the verification of scanned data against the civil
status database, paying particular attention to the amendment of individuals’
basic personal data.
The
system in place for meeting this requirement is adequate. The Commission
considers that this requirement is fulfilled.
3. BLOCK 2: MIGRATION MANAGEMENT  
3.1. General assessment
Turkish borders are difficult to
control, due to their length and to their challenging geographical and
environmental features. In recent years, they have become even more complex to
manage due to the situation in Syria and Iraq. Being traditionally the point of
destination and transit of irregular migratory flows from various areas of the
world, Turkey was recently exposed to unprecedentedly large refugee flows, including
the arrival of around  1.5 million Syrians fleeing the conflict in their
country.
The Turkish authorities have launched a
full reform of the migration management system, through the 2013 adoption of
the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, which came into force on 11
April 2014. The Law also established a new, specialised civilian single
authority (the  General Directorate for Migration Management of the Ministry of
Interior) in charge of migrants and refugees, previously dealt with by the police.
From a legal and institutional perspective,
this reform helps Turkey make a step towards EU and international standards in
the area of migration management, as well as towards fulfilling the Roadmap requirements.
This Law and other aspects of this reform must now be implemented. Similar reforms
are also needed in other areas under Block 2,  notably border management and
visa policy.
3.2. Detailed comments on the benchmarks
under the migration management block
3.2.1.
Border management
Ø  Carry
out adequate border checks and border surveillance along all the borders of the
country, especially along the borders with EU member states, in such a manner
that it will cause a significant and sustained reduction of the number of
persons managing to illegally cross the Turkish borders either for entering or
for exiting Turkey;
The number of irregular migrants
managing to cross Turkish borders irregularly, undetected by the Turkish border
agencies, remains relatively high. However one has to recognise that the Turkish
authorities in charge of border management are making significant efforts to
address the situation, and are deploying substantial human, financial and
technical resources on this endeavour.
The Commission considers that Turkey fulfils
only partially the requirements of this benchmark, but has good prospects for further
progress.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities continue working to improve their performance in this area,
particularly through reforming and strengthening their border agencies. The
following measures could, in the Commission’s opinion, help the Turkish
authorities make substantial progress in fulfilling this benchmark :   
·        
A proper risk analysis should be carried out for
the entire border, particularly those areas most exposed to irregular migration
pressure and to the risk of use of fraudulent documents. This analysis should
help to assess the specific resources and most appropriate methods needed for
each border area.
·        
Land forces should use more flexible monitoring
procedures to better tackle smugglers in all the border areas they are
responsible for.
·        
Operational cooperation between the police and the
customs service should be strengthened. The investigative tools and information
available in the customs service should be increasingly used to support the police.
Border crossing points should be organised and managed so as to ensure that
enough time and staff, and appropriate space and means, are provided to also
check people.
·        
Gendarmerie activity in patrolling the areas
adjacent to the border and coastal areas should be increased.  This will enhance
the probability of intercepting irregular migrants who have crossed the eastern
borders of the country bypassing checks by land forces, and those preparing to
irregularly exit the country along its borders with Greece and Bulgaria. 
·        
The police should place more emphasis on detecting
forged travel documents and genuine travel documents used by impostors, notably
at Istanbul’s Atatürk airport, but also at any other Turkey’s borders. Not only
the travel documents detected should be systematically seized, and the persons
using them prosecuted, but investigations should also always be launched to
identify and dismantle the criminal networks that procured the document.
·        
Passport checks should become systematic for passengers
in international transit areas of Turkish airports, especially for passengers travelling
to the EU.
·        
The option, currently available to certain
categories of people, to cross the Turkish border by using non-ICAO-compliant
identity cards, should be reconsidered.
Ø  Adopt
and effectively implement legislation governing the movement of persons at the
external borders, as well as legislation on the organisation of the border
authorities and their functions, in accordance with the 'National Action Plan
for the Implementation of Turkey's Integrated Border Management strategy',
approved on by Turkish authorities on 27th March 2006, and in line
with the principles and best practices enshrined in the EU Schengen Border Code
and the EU Schengen Catalogue;
The Commission considers that this requirement is not fulfilled,
because the 'National Action Plan for the
Implementation of Turkey's Integrated Border Management strategy' has only been implemented in a very limited fashion, and one of its
key components has not been implemented at all. This component proposed setting
up a single, non-military, specialised border organisation, and transferring all
the responsibilities and resources for border management to it. These are
currently distributed among several different agencies (i.e. the customs, the police,
the coastguard, and the land forces).
The Commission therefore recommends that the Turkish authorities
adopt all measures necessary to implement the Action Plan, in particular the legislation
required to set up the new border organisation.
Furthermore,  for the period until this single, non-military and specialised
border organisation can be established, the Commission recommends that Turkish
authorities improve the way in which the different existing border agencies
operate and cooperate with each other, in order to ensure modern and integrated
border management. In particular, the Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities:
·        
review the way in which land forces operate in
relation to border management, to ensure that troops in charge of monitoring the
land borders are restricted as little as possible by any conflicting rules and
obligations deriving from their being part of the army and are increasingly allowed
to: 
v 
fully cooperate with the other relevant law
enforcement and border agencies; 
v 
develop more flexible patrolling techniques; and

v 
organise their work and focus their activities
on the priority task of combating cross-border smuggling;
·        
adopt measures to ensure that the  border
agencies cooperate more closely with each other as well as with the gendarmerie.
Such measures could inter alia include:
v 
using and creating interoperable communication
tools;
v 
exchanging liaison officers, to share technical
resources and information;
v 
providing mutual access to their respective
databases, to allow each other under exceptional circumstances to operate in
their respective reciprocal area of authority;
v 
developing shared ways of working or carrying
out joint operations on the basis of jointly developed threat analyses;
v 
sharing statistics;  
v 
developing common training programmes;
v 
setting up procedures allowing the patrols from the
different institutions to communicate directly among themselves and to take the
initiative to act together whenever needed; 
v 
establishing mechanisms for the timely exchange
of information and intelligence at operational level, as well as for the
coordination and cooperation of the operations, so as to ensure that irregular
migrants transiting areas of competence of several agencies can be more easily
intercepted through an efficient use of the resources available to all of them 
v 
strengthening the coordinating role of the Integrated
Border Management Bureau.
Ø  Take
the necessary budgetary and other administrative measures ensuring the
deployment at the border crossing posts and along all the borders of the
country, especially on the borders with the EU member states, of well-trained
and qualified border guards (in sufficient number), as well as the availability
of efficient infrastructure, equipment and IT technology, including 
through a more extensive use of surveillance equipment, in particular
electronic means, mobile and fixed, video surveillance, infrared cameras and
other sensor systems;
The Turkish authorities are deploying significant human resources,
technical means, and infrastructure along the borders of the country. They show
a clear determination to continuously improve staff readiness in the border
agencies and improve the quality of the equipment at their disposal. The work
done by the land forces carrying out surveillance along Turkey’s land borders
and the professionalism of the coastguard are particularly impressive. The police
has a database, the POLNET, which is an effective tool for recording the entry
and exit of passengers across borders and for checking their rights to do so.
However, there is significant scope for improvement, so the
Commission considers this benchmark only partially fulfilled, but with good prospects for further
progress.  
In particular the Commission recommends that the Turkish authorities
take the following measures:
·        
The use of conscripts to monitor the ‘green
borders’ should be progressively limited to auxiliary tasks only. This may also
require increased use of technical monitoring tools (in particular,  the use of
car-mounted radar, unmanned air-vehicle and thermal cameras, and centralised monitoring
of surveillance data).
·        
Training for staff operating along the ‘green
borders’ should vary from the normal army curricula, focusing on border
management issues.  
·        
The rotation of land forces’ professional staff
should be limited to border brigades in order to allow specialisation, culture and
methodology on border work to develop. If this is not possible, incentives
should be offered to those wishing to specialise themselves in this area. The
same applies to the police, with the aim of developing real specialists in detecting
forged travel documents and impostors.
·        
An integrated system of coastal radars should be
progressively developed to monitor the sea borders, allowing a real situational
picture to be produced. This should be complemented by increased use of
air-surveillance, so as to ensure a rapid reaction to irregular departures of
migrants from Turkey’s territorial waters.  
Ø  Enhance
cooperation and information exchange between the staff and bodies in charge of
border management, the custom service and the other law enforcement agencies,
in view of enhancing the capacity to collect intelligence, to use human and
technical resources efficiently, and to act in a coordinated manner; 
The Commission considers that this requirement is only partially fulfilled,
in particular because the measures currently taken by Turkish authorities
guarantee only loose coordination among border agencies, based on regular
meetings at senior level, without proper institutional mechanisms to ensure
that the different bodies actually work together in an integrated manner.
In order to fulfil the requirement of this benchmark, the Turkish
authorities are invited to implement the measures already recommended for
previous requirements, ensuring that law enforcement agencies and the land forces
cooperate more closely, and allowing to establish an integrated border
management.
Ø  Establish
training programmes and adopt ethical codes on anti-corruption targeting the
border guards, customs and other officials involved in the border management;
The Commission considers that this requirement is partially
fulfilled with good prospects for further progress. The Turkish authorities
have regulations setting out the ethical codes which must be respected by every
member of the public administration and the law enforcement agencies.
However, the Commission recommends that Turkey: 
·        
develop versions of that general ethical code that
more specifically address the situation faced by officers in charge of border
management;
·        
develop appropriate training modules to raise
awareness of these; and 
·        
set up monitoring mechanisms.
Ø  Implement
in an effective manner the Memorandum of Understanding signed with FRONTEX,
including by developing joint cooperation initiatives and exchanging data and
risks analysis;
The Commission considers that this requirement is currently fulfilled.
Turkish authorities are however encouraged to continue and deepen
implementation of the triennial cooperation agenda they agreed with Frontex within
the framework of their Memorandum of Understanding.
Ø  Ensure
that border management is carried out in accordance
with the international refugee law, in full respect of the principle of
non-refoulement and effectively allowing the persons in need of international
protection to have access to asylum procedures.
In recent years the Turkish authorities
have granted international protection to more than one million asylum seekers
from Syria and many other countries. No push-back cases were reported. As a
result, the Commission considers that this requirement is currently fulfilled.
Ø  Ensure
adequate cooperation with the neighbouring EU Member States, aiming in
particular at reinforcing the management of the borders with EU Member States.
Recent improvements in border cooperation at the land borders
between the Turkish authorities and the Greek and Bulgarian authorities to prevent
irregular migration allow the Commission to consider that this requirement is
partially fulfilled.
In order to fully meet this benchmark, the Commission recommends
that the Turkish authorities take the following measures:
·        
Deepen and consolidate cooperation with the Greek and Bulgarian
authorities along the land borders, including through regular meetings that
include the Turkish land forces, establishing secure communication channels and
putting in place a stable and structured mechanism for coordination and
information sharing, notably by helping set up a tripartite contact centre based
at the ‘Capitan Andreevo’ border crossing point.
·        
Develop operational cooperation with the Greek authorities in the
Aegean region, in order to ensure that the cooperation at sea includes the prevention
of irregular migration by way of exchanging information, and makes use not only
of formal communications taking place between the headquarters of the two coastguards
involved, but also of operational exchanges between officers operating at local
level. With reference to this latter point, it would be particularly helpful to
set up a system of information sharing and reciprocal early warnings between all
local authorities involved in the prevention of and combating illegal migration.
·        
As recommended in Block 1, ensure that the Turkish police cooperate
with, share information with and provide mutual assistance to EU Member State
police liaison officers in detecting false and fraudulent documents
potentially used by passengers departing from or transiting through Turkey to
airports in the EU.
3.2.2.
Visa policy
Ø  Enhance
training on document security at the  consular and border staff of Turkey, and
develop and use the Turkish Visa Information System; 
In light of the attention already paid by
the Turkish authorities to the curricula for training border and consular staff
in detecting forged identity documents, and the fact that several databases that
include visas issued already exist and can all be consulted by the police, the
Commission considers that this benchmark is partially fulfilled and with
good prospects for further progress.
Nevertheless, the Commission recommends
that the Turkish authorities:

 develop better training for border
     and consular staff, particularly to improve their capacity to recognise passports
     and visas from Schengen and OECD countries, as well as the new
     high-security Turkish visas which are about to be introduced; and 
 continue working towards fully
     integrating the current databases on visas, to ensure that any law
     enforcement agency in Turkey working on border management or combating
     irregular migration can quickly check the authenticity of a Turkish visa
     on the travel document of a foreigner who wishes to enter or who has  entered
     Turkish territory.  

Ø  Abolish
issuance of visas at the borders as an ordinary procedure for the nationals of
certain non-EU countries, and especially for countries representing a high
migratory and security risk to the EU;
Turkish authorities still issue visas at
the border for the citizens of 89 countries, many of which are potential sources
of irregular migration to the EU. However, the new Law on Foreigners and International
Protection, which came into force in April 2014, has eliminated the legal possibility
for Turkey to issue visas at the borders as an ordinary procedure, and, based
on declarations by the Turkish authorities, the border visa system is likely to
be discontinued soon (probably by the end of 2014). Taking this into account, the
Commission considers that this benchmark is fulfilled partially, but with
good prospects for further progress. The Commission recommends that the
Turkish authorities  bring this change into force as early as possible.
Ø  Put
in use the new Turkish visa stickers with higher security features, and stop
using stamp visas;
While the Turkish authorities still use
visa stamps, which are easy to falsify, they have now completed the technical
preparations for new visa stickers with high-security features and have
announced their upcoming introduction. Therefore the Commission considers that
this benchmark is fulfilled partially, but with good prospects for further
progress.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities end the use of stamp visas, start using the new more secure visa
stickers instead and, in due course, expand the use of the latter and replace
any other kind of visa currently in use.  
Ø  Introduce
airport transit visas;
The Commission considers that this
requirement is almost fulfilled, as the new Law on Foreigners and International
Protection provides the Turkish authorities with the legal ability to ask
foreigners who wish to transit through Turkey by plane on a journey to a
further destination, and thus who plan to enter the international area of a
Turkish airport, to obtain a transit visa from a Turkish consulate, prior to
travel.
The Commission recommends that the
Turkish authorities implement the relevant provisions of the new law.
Ø  Amend
the rules on the basis of which Turkey allows the entry into its territory to
the nationals of the main countries representing important sources of illegal
migration for the EU, in the aim of making the access more difficult for those
willing to enter the Turkish territory with the purpose to subsequently attempt
to illegally cross the external borders of the EU;
As previously mentioned, the nationals
of 89 countries, many of which are considered a potential source of irregular
migration, are currently allowed to enter Turkish territory simply by obtaining
a visa at the Turkish border. However, the Turkish authorities have announced
their intention to discontinue the border visa system. 
Once this happens, the citizens of these
countries will continue, in principle, to be able to obtain a visa easily, applying
through the e-visa system. This system was set up as a pilot in 2013 and came
into normal use in April 2014, but it shares the weaknesses of the border visa
system.  
However, based on the e-visa system’s current
rules, the opportunity to obtain an e-visa will not be open to all.  Instead, citizens
of countries (with a few exceptions) that are considered potential sources of
irregular migration will only be able to apply for an e-visa for Turkey if they,
at the time of applying for the visa, already hold valid visas or residence
permits issued by OECD and Schengen countries.
In light of this, the Commission
considers that, for the time being, this benchmark is only fulfilled
partially, but there are good prospects for further progress.
In order to make progress in fulfilling
this benchmark, the Commission recommends that the Turkish authorities:  

 immediately end the opportunity to
     obtain visas at the border for nationals of countries that are potential
     sources of irregular migration;
 continue to apply strict rules and take
     a selective approach to issuing visas through the e-visa system;
 closely monitor how people entitled
     to enter Turkey through the e-visa system or without needing a visa make
     use of these measures; and 
 put in place appropriate measures
     to respond in a timely manner to potential abuses, if these are shown to
     be widespread among particular nationalities or categories of people.

With reference to the last point, and in
order for the Commission to be able to assess Turkey’s progress in fulfilling
this benchmark, the Turkish authorities will need to submit regular information
on:

 the number of visas issued by them
     to nationals of particular countries, with an indication of the kind of
     visas issued (border visas, e-visas, or embassy visas);
 the number of irregular migrants of
     particular nationalities intercepted within Turkey, with an indication of
     what kind of visas they had, if any;  and
 the number and kinds of forged and
     fraudulent visas and residence permits from OECD and Schengen countries
     identified by the Turkish authorities among holders of Turkish e-visas.

Should a substantial increase be seen in
the number of irregular migrants with a particular nationality apprehended in
Turkey or along the EU-Turkish border, the Commission will also need information
from the Turkish authorities on the kind of measures Turkey has taken or is
planning to take in order to address this problem.
Ø  Pursue
the alignment of Turkish visa policy, legislation and administrative capacities
towards the EU acquis, notably vis-à-vis the  main countries representing
important sources of illegal migration for the EU;
As explained above, the Turkish
authorities have announced their intention to end the issuing of visas at
borders and to replace visa stamps with high-security visa stickers, in line
with the rules and features in use in the Schengen system. Once the border visa
system is discontinued, Turkey’s negative visa list will be a substantial step
towards alignment (though it will still not be fully aligned) with the negative
visa list used by the Schengen countries.
However, none of these reforms have yet
been enacted.
Based on the available information, it
appears that the checks made by Turkish consular authorities on visa applicants
are limited, compared with those applied in EU Member States. A visa is
normally granted when the authorities verify that the applicant fulfils certain
requirements (for instance, that his/her entry on the Turkish territory is not
banned due to legal or security reasons, and that he/she is able to demonstrate
that he/she has sufficient funds to cover the financial costs of his/her stay
in Turkey and his/her return home). No additional documentation is collected, nor
is a more substantive analysis undertaken that might, for example, detect whether
the visa applicant plans to enter Turkey intending to subsequently stay  in
Turkey as an irregular migrant, or use Turkey as a springboard to irregularly cross
the EU border.
In light of this, the Commission
considers this benchmark to be only partially fulfilled.
In order to make progress in fulfilling
this benchmark, the Commission recommends that the Turkish authorities enact
all the reforms they have announced, and revise their visa issuing system and
training for consular staff who issue visas, taking inspiration from the
Schengen visa system. In order to assess Turkey’s progress in fulfilling this
recommendation, the Commission will need:

 copies of the instructions issued
     to Turkish consular and border staff on the criteria and procedures to be
     followed in accepting or refusing visa applications, including the list of
     documents to be submitted by visa applicants; and
 detailed statistics on the visa
     requests that were accepted and refused, and the reasons for refusal.

The Turkish authorities are also
encouraged to continue work on aligning Turkey’s negative visa list with the
negative list used by the Schengen countries, and in any case to avoid any
further differentiation.
Ø  Allow
non-discriminatory visa-free access to the Turkish territory for the citizens
of all the EU Member States.
The Commission considers that this
benchmark is not fulfilled, because currently only citizens of 19 of the
28 EU Member States are entitled to travel to the Turkish territory without a
visa.
Concerns remain with regard to the de
facto discrimination of applicants of the Republic of Cyprus. The
latter are required to obtain a visa to travel to the Turkish territory, and
can obtain it by applying to the Turkish e-visa system, but the website for applications
to the e-visa system refers to the Republic of Cyprus as the ‘Greek Cypriot Administration
of Southern Cyprus’.  
The Commission recommends that the
Turkish authorities end this discriminatory treatment in order to fulfil this
benchmark.
3.2.3 Carriers’ responsibility
Ø  Adopt
and effectively implement the legislation on carriers' responsibility defining
sanctions.
Carriers operating in Turkey are already
required to return passengers to their point of departure if they have been
refused admission into Turkish territory by the Turkish authorities, and this requirement
was confirmed in the new Law on Foreigners and International Protection. Taking
this into account, the Commission considers that this benchmark is fulfilled
partially, with good prospects for further progress.  
In order to build a more stringent
system, prevent irregular arrivals in the Turkish territory and make progress
in fulfilling this benchmark, the Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities create a sanctions scheme for negligent carriers, taking EU and
international best practice into account.
3.2.4. International Protection
Ø  Adopt
and effectively implement legislation and implementing provisions, in
compliance with  the EU acquis and with the standards set by the Geneva
Convention of 1951 on refugees and its 1967 Protocol, thus excluding any
geographical limitation, so as to ensuring the respect of the principle of
non-refoulement, taking into account also the European Convention on Human
Rights, the possibility to lodge an asylum request and to obtain the refugee
status protection or a subsidiary form of protection for any person in need of
international protection,  and allowing the UNHCR to effectively fulfil
its mandate on the Turkish territory without restrictions;
The Commission considers that, through
the adoption and the entry into force in April 2014 of the new Law on Foreigners
and International Protection, Turkey has taken a significant step towards fulfilling
this benchmark, as this law provides for the establishment of a national asylum
procedure and protection statuses that are in line, overall, with international
and EU standards.
The law also reduces to a very marginal
level the impact of the ‘geographic limitation’ that Turkey applies to the 1951
Geneva Convention and which the Turkish authorities have decided, for the time
being, to keep applying. This limitation restricts the Convention’s scope in
Turkey to ‘people who have become refugees as a result of events occurring in
Europe’.  The new law however gives also any person not covered under the ‘geographical
limitation’ (referred to as ‘conditional refugees’ in the law) access to a
Turkish international protection status. The status offered to ‘conditional
refugees’ is somewhat less beneficial than the status offered to those who are covered
by the ‘geographic limitation’, but the differences are not huge. Where the law
leaves a margin of discretion as to its implementation, these differences have
the potential to become almost symbolic.   
However, the Commission notes that, as
these rules are new, there is no track record of implementation. Some key
aspects of the situation faced by asylum seekers and beneficiaries of
international protection in Turkey are not covered in the legislation, but will
depend on provisions in secondary legislation which have not yet been adopted. 

In light of this, the Commission
considers that this benchmark is fulfilled partially, but with good prospects
for further progress.
In order for the Commission to be able
to upgrade its assessment, the Turkish authorities will need to ensure that:  

 all the secondary legislation necessary
     to effectively and fully implement the law is adopted; and
 the provisions of the law are
     effectively and consistently implemented throughout the country.

With reference to the first point, it
will be particularly important to ensure that:

 the provisions of the law, notably
     the possibility of accessing an international protection status
     determination procedure and acquiring an international protection status,
     are also effectively applied to applicants and refugees (recognised by
     UNHCR) who were already present on Turkish territory when the law came into
     force;
 those declared beneficiaries of ‘temporary
     protection’ in accordance with the law will be granted, by secondary
     legislation that will be adopted, rights comparable to those provided by
     the EU Temporary Protection Directive and the possibility of accessing
     individual international protection status determination procedures, if
     required; and
 ‘conditional refugees’ are granted
     a status that does not differ in practice from the one given to refugees covered
     under the ‘geographic limitation’, offering both groups work permits,
     social assistance and opportunities to integrate, in line with the
     approach in the EU Qualification Directive.

Ø  Establish
a specialised body responsible for the refugee status determination procedures
with the possibility for an effective remedy in fact and law before a court or
tribunal as well as for ensuring the protection and assistance of asylum
seekers and refugees and provide that body and its staff with adequate working
capacity and training;
Two significant
steps towards fulfilling this requirement have been the creation of the General
Directorate for Migration Management and the entry into force of the Law on Foreigners
and International Protection, which inter alia includes provisions for
reviewing rejected international protection applications and related decisions,
such as detention orders, both at administrative and judicial level.
The General Directorate is still being set up, particularly
at provincial level, and its responsibility for implementing the law is still
largely delegated to other public-sector bodies acting under its authority. The
necessary institutional arrangements to implement the new legislation have not
all yet been made, in particular with regard to delegating powers from the centre
to regional and provincial authorities.
In light of this, the Commission
considers that this requirement is fulfilled partially, but with good
prospects for further progress.
In order for the Commission to improve its
assessment, the Turkish authorities should ensure that:

 the provisions of the law with
     regard to lodging appeals at
     administrative and judicial level against the rejection of an application
     for international protection, and related decisions such as detention
     orders, are effectively and consistently implemented throughout the
     country, including with regard to the independence and impartiality of
     judicial review;  

·        
the General Directorate for
Migration Management finishes making its intra-institutional arrangements and
has adequate staffing, particularly at provincial level, and that it takes on responsibility
for carrying out asylum procedures in practice;
·        
there is a clear division of
responsibilities for securing the rights of applicants for and beneficiaries of
international protection, respectively.
The Commission also recommends that the Turkish authorities
set up an integrated and reliable system to identify applicants for and
beneficiaries of international protection. The system should provide
comprehensive and harmonised statistical information.
Ø  Provide
adequate infrastructures and sufficient human resources and funds ensuring a
decent reception and protection of the rights and dignity of asylum seekers and
refugees;
Applicants and beneficiaries of
international protection in Turkey are not normally offered accommodation by
the authorities. However, the Turkish authorities are offering high-quality accommodation
in refugee camps to 220 000 Syrian refugees. The Commission considers that
Turkey fulfils the requirements of this benchmark partially and with good
prospects for further progress.
Under the current circumstances, it would not be realistic
to expect the Turkish authorities to provide accommodation for all asylum
seekers and beneficiaries of international protection present in Turkey.
Nevertheless, the Commission recommends that the Turkish authorities:
·        
set up an adequate number of
reception centres also for non-Syrian applicants and beneficiaries of
international protection who do not have any other accommodation, providing accommodation
at least for those in the most vulnerable groups, taking inspiration from the
standards set out in the Reception Conditions Directive and the Qualification
Directive;
·        
write policies and put in
place institutional tools to prevent discrimination against those who receive
international protection and to ensure equal access to accommodation for all
beneficiaries of international protection, taking inspiration from the
standards set out in the Qualification Directive.
Ø  Persons
who are granted a refugee status should be given the possibility to
self-sustain, to access to public services, enjoy social rights and be put in
the condition to integrate in Turkey.
Turkey has taken a significant step
towards fulfilling this requirement through the entry into force of the Law on Foreigners
and International Protection, which includes provisions on the rights of
beneficiaries of international protection to access public education,
healthcare and the labour market, and the measures it has taken to provide
funding to implement the provisions on education and healthcare in practice. 
However, for various
reasons, effective access to these rights is not guaranteed in the same way
everywhere and for everyone in Turkey. In light of this the Commission
considers that this requirement is fulfilled partially, but with good
prospects for further progress.
The Commission
recommends that the Turkish authorities:
·        
ensure that all
beneficiaries of international protection, including the beneficiaries of
temporary protection and ‘conditional refugees’ as defined by the new law, can
effectively and systematically exercise their rights relating to identity cards
and access to the labour market, so as to support self-sufficiency and
integration;

 design and implement policies facilitating
     access to rights for beneficiaries of international protection, who risk
     becoming socially marginalised, particularly those living in non-state
     accommodation; 
 monitor and verify, including by collecting
     statistical information, the real capacity of beneficiaries of
     international protection to access public services and benefit from the social
     assistance options provided for in law.

3.2.5.
Illegal Migration 
Ø  Adopt
and implement legislation providing for an effective migration management and
including rules aligned with the EU and the Council of Europe standards, on the
entry, exit, short and long-term stay of foreigners and the members of their
family, as well as on the reception, return and rights of the foreigners having
been found entering or residing in Turkey illegally;
In
light of the recent adoption and entry into force of the Law on Foreigners and International
Protection, the Commission considers that this requirement is fulfilled
partially, but with good prospects for further progress  .
In
order to enable the Commission to upgrade this assessment, the Turkish
authorities will need to ensure that the provisions of this new law are effectively
and comprehensively implemented throughout the country, and that all relevant
secondary legislation is adopted.
Ø  Set
up and start to apply a mechanism for the monitoring of migration flows, with
data both on regular and illegal migration; establish bodies responsible for
collection and analysis of data on migration stocks and flows; and develop a situational
picture on illegal migration flows at national, regional and local level, as
well as on the different countries of origin of the illegal migration,
including implementation of risk analysis and intelligence;
In light of the General Directorate for
Migration Management’s new role in collecting and analysing statistics on
migration, and the Turkish authorities’ cooperation with Frontex, the Commission
considers this benchmark partially fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities provide the General Directorate for Migration Management with the
necessary resources to start practically carrying out its task of collecting
and analysing statistical data relating to all relevant aspects of migration.
The Commission also recommends that the
Turkey continues its cooperation with Frontex and starts developing an analysis
of the risk posed by different countries as sources of irregular migration
towards Turkey.
Ø  Address
the pull factors facilitating illegal migration flows into the country, and
take measures improving the capacity to investigate cases of organised or
facilitated illegal migration;
This requirement is fulfilled
partially, but with good prospects for further progress.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities implement recently adopted reforms to the visa and asylum system,
abolish Turkish passports without biometric identifiers, and strengthen Ministry
of Labour's capacity to inspect and prevent irregular migrants joining the
labour market.   
In order for the Commission to assess
progress in fulfilling this requirement, it will need to see that Turkish law
enforcement agencies have an increased capacity to identify and arrest
irregular migrants and facilitators of irregular migration, and also to carry
out more complex investigations allowing the detection and dismantling of
criminal networks that smuggle migrants.
Ø  Effectively
seek to conclude and implement readmission agreements with the countries that
represent sources of important illegal migration flows directed towards Turkey
or the EU Member States;
The
Turkish authorities have some readmission agreements in place, but very few of these
are with countries that are significant sources of irregular migration. In some
cases, the authorities have negotiated or proposed negotiating readmission
agreements with such countries, but unfortunately have not achieved results, particularly
as some of the agreements that were signed by Turkey were subsequently not
ratified. Turkey has border cooperation agreements with some of its neighbours
that include provisions on the readmission of irregular migrants, but these
provisions are rarely implemented. In light of this, the Commission considers
that Turkey has only partially fulfilled this benchmark.
The
Commission recommends that the Turkish authorities make their best efforts to
ensure that:

 the
     readmission agreements signed to date come into force;
  readmission
     provisions in the border cooperation agreements they have with some neighbouring
     countries are effectively implemented;
 progress
     is made on negotiating and concluding readmission agreements with at least
     some of the countries that are key sources of irregular migration to Turkey. 

Ø  Ensure
sufficient financial and human resources for effective migration management,
including also adequate training programs;
The
Commission considers that this benchmark is almost fulfilled.
In
order to make further progress, the Turkish authorities will need to:

 complete
     the creation and set up of the General Directorate for Migration
     Management;
 continue
     allocating enough resources to the General Directorate to allow it to
     fulfil its responsibilities.

Ø  Ensure
effective expulsion of illegally residing third-country nationals from its
territory;
The
Commission considers that this benchmark is almost fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities strengthen their capacity to detect the nationality of irregular
migrants they have intercepted, reducing the risk that some of them avoid expulsion
by providing false information on their origins.
Ø  Establish
the conditions allowing a voluntary return to the third country nationals
expelled from its country and willing to use this modality ;
Taking
into account the provisions of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection,
and the limited pilot programmes for assisted voluntary return already carried
out in Turkey, the Commission considers that this benchmark is fulfilled
partially but with good prospects for further
progress.
In order for the Commission to upgrade
its assessment, it will need to receive:

 information allowing it to verify
     how the new provisions introduced in Turkish legislation to allow for the
     voluntary return of irregular migrants are actually implemented;
 statistical data concerning the
     number of voluntary returns authorised and actually implemented by the
     Turkish authorities.   

Ø  Provide
adequate infrastructure (including detention centres) and strengthen
responsible bodies to ensure effective expulsion of illegally residing and/or
transiting third country nationals from the Turkish territory, while offering
all the needed legal aid, as well as social and psychological assistance, and
decent and fair detention conditions and removal procedures, to the returnees.
The
Commission considers that this requirement is fulfilled partially, but
with good prospects for further progress.
In
order to make further progress towards fulfilling the benchmark, the Commission
recommends that the Turkish authorities continue their work to build and equip centres
 to host  irregular migrants in a decent manner while they undergo readmission
and removal procedures.
The Commission also recommends improving
practical access for these people to legal aid, social and psychological
assistance and decent and fair detention conditions procedures, particularly by
working with specialised organisations, allocating appropriate funding, and deploying
well-trained and motivated staff.
4. BLOCK 3: PUBLIC ORDER AND SECURITY  
4.1. General assessment
The
situation in Turkey in this area is varied and sometimes contradictory.
Law
enforcement agencies are resourceful and active. They are usually staffed with
highly professional and committed specialists, and they make huge efforts in
the fight against crime, with many and significant achievements. However,
results in detecting and dismantling the criminal organisations operating in
the country or involved in transnational networks are below expectations.
The
country has significant and well established tools for police and judicial
cooperation with international partners, including EU Member States and EU agencies.
However, the results of that cooperation are below the level needed for both
the EU and Turkey. Difficulties are created by various factors, including
differences between EU and Turkish legislation, the different agreements to
which the parties have acceded, and differences in the approach taken on
certain issues.
In
many cases, Turkish officials prepared draft laws and agreements — whose implementation
would strengthen cooperation or make better use of Turkey’s law enforcement
agencies’ potential — for approval or signature by the government, but these
have remained on hold for years, for reasons unknown to the Commission.
Many
significant steps forward appear to be within reach and quickly achievable,
provided that they are supported by political will for reform.   
4.2. Detailed comments on the benchmarks
under public order and security block
4.2.1.
Preventing and fighting organised crime, terrorism and corruption
Ø  Continue
and complete implementation of its National Strategy and Action Plan for the
fight against organised crime (in particular cross-border aspects) and ensure
adequate human and financial resources for its implementation;
Turkey provides considerable financial,
technical and human resources to combat organised crime. As documented, inter
alia, by the report on anti-smuggling and organised crime 2013 issued by
the Turkish police, its law enforcement agencies are achieving significant results
in this area. 
However, information is still lacking to
the Commission on the specific measures taken by Turkish authorities to
implement the Action Plan for the fight against organised crime, or on how such
measures and the overall strategy on organised crime can help effectively
address the threat represented by criminal organisations operating in Turkey. Furthermore,
an analysis of the way in which criminal organisations are structured and are
operating in Turkey does not seem to be available. As a result, the Commission
considers the requirements of this benchmark only partially fulfilled.
In order for the Commission to be able
to upgrade its assessment, the Turkish authorities will need to provide:  
·      information
on the specific measures actually taken to implement the Action Plan;
·      information
that allows the Commission to understand the nature and size of the criminal
organisations based in Turkey, with a focus on those operating nationally or
transnationally, with indications of their typical geographic and economic
areas of activity; and an explanation of the approach the Turkish authorities
are developing to dismantle these criminal organisations and combat their
activities.
Ø  Sign
and ratify the Council of Europe's Convention on Action against Human
Trafficking as well as adopt and effectively implement legislation, including
provisions aligned on the standards set by this Convention as well as by the EU
acquis related to the prevention of the trafficking in human beings, the
prosecution of traffickers, and the protection and assistance of their
victims; 
Turkey’s penal code and the Law on Foreigners
and International Protection include provisions allowing for prosecution of
traffickers in human beings and assistance to victims of human trafficking. However,
a comprehensive legal framework on trafficking in human beings has not yet been
created, and the relevant Council of Europe Convention has been signed but not
ratified.
In light of this, the Commission
considers that this requirement is only partially fulfilled. 
The Commission recommends that the
Turkish authorities:

 ratify the Council of Europe
     Convention on Action against Human Trafficking; and
 adopt a law to comprehensively address
     trafficking in human beings, in line with the standards set by the
     Convention and the EU acquis.

Ø  Provide
adequate infrastructures and sufficient human resources and funds ensure decent
reception and protection of the rights and dignity of victims of
trafficking,  and supporting their social and professional
reintegration;  
The Commission considers that this
benchmark is partially fulfilled, thanks to the work
already being done in Turkey to provide support to the victims of trafficking
in human beings.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities:

 increase the support they provide, to
     cope with the number of victims being rescued, in particular by opening
     and running additional shelters;
 develop programmes to support victims
     in reintegrating into society, both socially and professionally; and
 ensure that staff who work with the
     victims of trafficking receive appropriate training.

Ø  Ratify 
the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and
Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (CETS
198) and transpose its provisions into the internal legislation and adopt and
effectively enact legislation allowing to meet the requirements of this
Convention as well as the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) on establishing a system on the freezing of assets and a definition of
the financing of terrorism;  
Although Turkey has not yet
ratified the relevant Convention, it has developed national legislation and
administrative capacities to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
As a result the Commission considers that this requirement is fulfilled
partially, but with good prospects for further progress.
The Commission recommends
that the Turkish authorities:

 ratify and start to implement
     the Convention;  
 revise national legislation
     to ensure full alignment with the Convention’s provisions;
 set up a system to centralise the
     collection of statistics on confiscation of the proceeds of crime; and
 fully implement recommendations
     made by the Financial Action Task Force.

The Turkish authorities are also
encouraged to consider setting up an Asset Recovery Office for the confiscation
and recovery of proceeds of crime
Ø  Ratify
the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime and adopt legislation and
implement measures allowing to enact this Convention;
In light of Turkey’s recent ratification
of the Convention, which the Turkish authorities have not yet started to
implement, and the sizeable capabilities developed by the law enforcement agencies
to combat cybercrime, the Commission considers this requirement fulfilled partially but with good prospects for further progress.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities start to implement the Convention, and revise national legislation to
make it fully compliant with the Convention’s provisions, focusing in
particular on Articles 9, 16, 17 and 18 of the Convention.
Ø  Continue
implementing the National Strategy and the Action Plans against Drugs and Drug
Addiction and develop cooperation with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs
and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA);
The
Turkish authorities appear to be very engaged in the fight against drugs
trafficking. In addition, they are working with the EMCDDA, and are
implementing the Strategy and the Action Plan. 
The
Turkish Drug Report 2013 published by the Turkish Ministry of Interior informed
quite comprehensively on the phenomena of drug trafficking and drug addiction
in Turkey, as well as on the policies developed by Turkish authorities to
counter these phenomena. However no detailed information was provided by the Turkish
authorities on the specific measures taken to implement the Action Plan. 
The
cooperation agreement with the EMCDDA was ratified by Turkey on 29 June 2012,
but the official document of has never been deposited by Turkish authorities,
which prevents the agreement coming into force in Turkey. 
In
light of the above, the Commission considers that this benchmark is fulfilled partially, but with good prospects for further progress. 
In
order to be able to issue an upgraded assessment, the Commission will need to
receive detailed information on measures taken by the Turkish authorities to
effectively implement the current Action Plan against Drugs and Drug addiction.
The
Commission also recommends that the Turkish authorities continue to improve the
(already high) quality of their annual reporting, and enable the cooperation
agreement with the EMCDDA to come into force by depositing the official
document of ratification. 
Ø  Continue
implementing the National Strategy and the Action Plan on Fight against
Corruption and the recommendations of GRECO (I, II and III. Evaluation Round).
The Commission
considers that this benchmark is only partially fulfilled, because,
based on the limited information received from the Turkish authorities, only
some of the recommendations made by GRECO have been appropriately followed up,
and only some of the measures set out in the action plan to fight against corruption
have been implemented.
The Commission
recommends that the Turkish authorities:
·        
follow
up on all of GRECO’s recommendations;
·        
complete
the implementation of the Action Plan against Corruption;
·        
provide
detailed information on the measures taken to implement these two
recommendations.
As the current Strategy
and the Action Plan against corruption will expire in 2014, the Commission also
recommends that the Turkish authorities adopt and start implementing a new strategy
and action plan.
These documents
should follow from a thorough analysis of prevention and the fight against
corruption and should include: 
·        
strict
deadlines for implementing the planned measures; 
·        
budgetary
allocations; 
·        
institutions
and people responsible for carrying out actions; and 
·        
indicators
of success. 
Civil society
should be part of the process of drafting and monitoring of these documents,
while the overall monitoring of and reporting on implementation of the action
plan should be entrusted to a public-sector body or a working group empowered to
act with the necessary degree of independence.  
4.2.2.
Judicial cooperation
Ø  Implement
and comply with international conventions concerning judicial cooperation in
criminal matters (in particular the Council of Europe Conventions on Extradition (no 24 of
1957, including the not yet implemented Additional Protocols of 1975, 2010 and 2012), Mutual Assistance
in Criminal Matters (no 30 of 1959, including the not yet implemented Additional
Protocol of 2001), and the Transfer of Sentenced Persons ( no 112 of 1983, including
the not yet implemented Additional Protocol of 1997);
Turkey is already party to many of the conventions
and protocols mentioned in this benchmark, is implementing them, and intends to
sign more of them. The Commission considers that this requirement is fulfilled
partially, but with good prospects for further progress.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities sign, ratify and start implementing the three Protocols to the
Convention on Extradition, the Protocol to the Convention on Mutual Assistance
in Criminal Matters, and the Protocol to the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced
Persons, to which Turkey is not yet party.
Ø  Take
measures aimed at improving the efficiency of judicial cooperation in criminal
matters of judges and prosecutors with the EU Member States and with countries
in the region;
Turkish authorities and experts have
been working to prepare a single comprehensive legal act, setting out clearly
and simply the procedures to be followed by the Turkish authorities to request
and provide international judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the most
efficient and effective manner. Such act however up to now has not yet been
adopted. 
In light of this, the Commission
considers that this requirement is fulfilled partially, but with good prospects
for further progress.
In order to make progress towards the
fulfilment of this benchmark, the Commission encourages Turkey to consider
adopting such comprehensive legal act. 
Moreover the Commission recommends that Turkey
continue introducing relevant administrative, technical and legal measures,
including training, to ensure that the Turkish authorities can respond more
quickly to requests for legal assistance in criminal matters.
Ø  Develop
working relations with Eurojust
Turkish authorities are making good use of
any possible opportunity for developing relations offered to them by Eurojust.
However, Turkey’s ability to develop fully fledged cooperation with Eurojust is
structurally limited by the absence of national legislation on data protection that
is in line with the EU acquis. Therefore, Eurojust is not able to share
personal and confidential information relevant to specific judicial cases with
the Turkish authorities.
In light of this, the Commission
considers that this requirement is only partially fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the
Turkish authorities adopt and start implementing national legislation on data
protection in line with the EU acquis. 
Meanwhile, the Commission recommends
them also to provide information about the actions they plan to carry out to
develop their working relations with Eurojust.
Ø  Continue
implementing the 1980 Hague Convention on civil aspects of the international
child abduction, and accede to the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable
Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in Respect of Parental Responsibility
and Measures for the Protection of Children, as well as to the 2007 Hague
Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family
Maintenance;  
Turkey
implements the 1980 Hague Convention, although proceedings are frequently
subject to delay. It is not a party to the 1996 and 2007 Conventions, although
it is a party to other conventions which address similar matters in a different
manner. As a result of this situation, the Commission considers that this
requirement is only partially fulfilled.
The
Commission recommends that the Turkish authorities:

 accede
     to the
     1996 and 2007 Hague Conventions;  
 take
     effective measures to ensure an acceptable reduction in delays to proceedings
     resulting from the 1980 Hague Convention.

With
reference to this last point, the Turkish authorities are encouraged to give
particular consideration to reforming the procedure by which the Hague
Convention is currently being implemented, to ensure a speedier start and a
shorter duration for judicial proceedings (notably for appeals), and to have these
proceedings heard by specialised courts.
The
Turkish authorities are also invited to give due consideration to appointing
a judge as contact point in the International Hague Network of Judges, so as to
facilitate cooperation on matters covered by the Hague Conventions.   
Ø  Provide
effective judicial cooperation in criminal matters to all the EU Member States,
including in extradition matters inter alia by promoting direct contacts between central
authorities.
Turkey’s ability to offer EU
Member States full cooperation in extradition matters is primarily hampered by
some structural limitations and, in particular, its constitutional choice not
to allow the extradition of its citizens. Similarly, EU citizens cannot be
extradited to Turkey. Within these limitations, and taking into account the
principle of reciprocity and the applicable international conventions, the Turkish
authorities are however ready, in principle, to cooperate with the EU Member
States in extraditing non-nationals. There are also provisions in the Turkish
legal order enabling Turkey to launch national prosecutions or to enforce foreign
sentences against Turkish citizens who fled to Turkish territory after committing
crimes abroad.
Another limitation to Turkey's
ability to cooperate with EU Member States in criminal matters consists in the
observed reticence by Turkish authorities to give a positive follow up to requests
of judicial cooperation submitted by some EU Member States, whose judicial
authorities rejected in the past requests of judicial cooperation submitted by Turkey.
The Turkish authorities follow this approach even in cases in which the rejection
by a Member State was due to technical reasons, notably to the existing difference
in the legislation and safeguards between the EU Member State and Turkey on the
specific crime subject to the request. Albeit this important limitation, the Turkish
authorities are providing effective cooperation in criminal matters to most of
the EU Member States, although the scope and efficiency of the cooperation
offered to them may vary significantly.  
In light of the above, the
Commission considers this benchmark fulfilled
partially.
The Commission recommends
that the Turkish authorities:
·        
take a cooperative stance
towards the authorities in Member States who approach them on matters of
judicial cooperation in criminal matters, building up a good level of
reciprocal information exchange on the respective applicable legislation and
procedures, and refraining from a strict application of the principle of
reciprocity;
·        
continue the reform of the
Turkish criminal justice system  and legislation, so as to ensure its further
harmonisation with the EU and European standards, while maintaining the
independence of the judiciary and strengthening procedural safeguards;
·        
help the authorities in Member
States to identify and apply procedures under Turkish legislation, which would
allow the prosecution of crimes committed on EU territory by Turkish nationals having
subsequently fled to Turkey;
·        
offer judicial cooperation in criminal matters
to all EU Member States without discrimination, including to the authorities in
the Republic of Cyprus.
4.2.3. Law enforcement cooperation
Ø  Take
necessary steps to ensure effective and efficient law enforcement cooperation
among relevant national agencies - especially border guards, police, customs
officers, through full inter-agency collaboration in the field of intelligence
and information exchange - as well as cooperation with the judicial
authorities;
Turkish law enforcement agencies do not routinely
share their resources and work tools and do not share access to their
respective databases and intelligence. However, they have established
mechanisms of coordination and information sharing, they share access with the
judiciary to all the relevant judicial proceedings through the UYAP database system
and the police and the customs service have improved their cooperation through
a protocol to allow data sharing. As a result, the Commission considers this
benchmark almost fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities continue developing cooperation between the law enforcement
agencies and other relevant public-sector bodies and, in particular, to improve
their capacity to produce shared threat assessments, carry out joint
operations, and increasingly make use of each other’s skills when launching and
carrying out investigations.
Ø  Reinforce
regional law enforcement services cooperation and implement bilateral and
multilateral operational cooperation agreements, including by on time sharing
of relevant information with competent law enforcement authorities of EU Member
States;
In light of Turkey’s participation in
various international organisations on police matters, particularly Interpol,
and the fact that it has concluded security agreements with most of the EU
Member States, the Commission considers this requirement almost fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the
Turkish authorities offer police cooperation, including in Interpol matters, to
the authorities in all EU Member States, including in the Republic of Cyprus.
Ø  Improve
the operational and special investigative quality and capacity of law
enforcement services to more efficiently serious cross-border crime, including
identity and travel document fraud;
Turkish law enforcement agencies appear
to be well equipped with the capacities referred to in this benchmark. The
Commission considers this benchmark fulfilled.
Ø  Effectively
cooperate with OLAF and Europol in protecting the euro against 
counterfeiting; 
The Turkish authorities effectively and
regularly cooperate with the relevant EU and EU Member State institutions in protecting
the euro against counterfeiting. The Commission considers that this benchmark
is fulfilled.
Ø  Strengthen
the capacities of the Turkish Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) and
develop its cooperation with other Financial Intelligence Units within the EU
Member States;
MASAK is a relatively young institution,
but in light of its significant range of activity and the cooperation it has
already developed with financial intelligence units in EU Member States, the
Commission considers this requirement partially fulfilled, but with good
prospects for further progress..
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities take some additional measures to further build  MASAK’s capacity
and develop work tools allowing it to increase the quality, the quantity and
the spectrum of its investigations, notably through:

 improving MASAK’s capacity to
     collect, process and analyse data on suspicious transactions, with the
     view to conducting more effective and successful investigations;
 collecting and producing statistics
     on the numbers of suspicious transactions that lead to money laundering
     prosecutions, and the numbers of convictions achieved;
 conducting an internal
     resource review on the adequacy of systems, staffing and resource levels in
     MASAK;
 carrying out a national risk
     assessment to identify methods of money laundering in Turkey, identify
     high-risk financial products and businesses and work with the regulated
     sectors to minimise these threats. This risk assessment could be used to
     develop a new Turkish Anti-money laundering (AML) Action plan;
 analysing the supervisory processes
     in place for AML and for countering  terrorism financing (CFT) to ensure
     compliance and alignment with EU Member State practices;
 devising a system to evaluate the
     competency of compliance officers working on AML/CFT; and 
 conducting
     joint training on AML/CFT with Turkish law enforcement agencies.

Ø  Continue
implementing the Strategic Agreement with Europol;
The Commission considers that this
requirement is almost fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities continue working to develop all forms of cooperation possible under
the strategic agreement.  
Ø  Conclude
and fully and effectively implement an Operational Cooperation Agreement with Europol.
This requirement is not fulfilled.
In order for Turkey to make progress
towards signing an operational cooperation agreement with Europol, the Commission
recommends that the Turkish authorities adopt and start implementing
national legislation on data protection in line with the EU acquis.
4.2.4 Data protection
Ø  Sign,
ratify and implement relevant international conventions, in particular the Council
of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic
Processing of Personal Data of 1981 and its Additional Protocol no 181;
The Commission considers that this
requirement is not fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities ratify and implement the Convention and its additional protocol.
Ø  Adopt
and implement legislation on the protection of personal data in line with the
EU standards, in particular as regards the independence of the authority in
charge of ensuring the protection of personal data.
The Commission considers that this
requirement is not fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities adopt and start implementing national legislation on data
protection in line with the EU acquis.
5. BLOCK 4: FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
5.1. General assessment
To the extent that this is relevant for
assessing  the progress  made towards visa liberalisation, it is possible to
state that Turkey has made good progress and taken significant steps in the
areas covered by the benchmarks under this block. In several cases, reforms and
new approaches are already under way. The Commission encourages Turkey to
continue these.
5.2. Detailed comments on the benchmarks
under the fundamental rights block
5.2.1.
Freedom of movement of the citizens

 Ensure that freedom of movement of
     citizens of Turkey is not subject to unjustified restrictions, including
     measures of a discriminatory nature, based on any ground such as sex,
     race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language,
     religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a
     national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.
     Carry out related full investigations when needed;

As
freedom of movement is broadly guaranteed in Turkey and there appear to be no
major obstacles to this freedom in practice, the Commission considers that this
requirement is fulfilled.
5.2.2.
Conditions and procedures for the issue of  identity documents
Ø  Provide
information about the conditions and circumstances for the acquisition of
Turkish citizenship;
Turkey
has provided adequate information about the conditions for acquiring Turkish
citizenship. Therefore, the Commission considers that Turkey has fulfilled
this requirement.
Ø  Provide information about the conditions for changing personal
data;
Turkey has provided adequate information
about the conditions for amending personal data. Therefore, the Commission
considers that Turkey has fulfilled this requirement.
Ø  Ensure
full and effective access to travel and identity documents for all citizens
including women, children, people with disabilities, persons belonging to
minorities, internally displaced people, and other vulnerable groups;
Turkish legislation provides for access
to travel and identity documents for all citizens. Therefore, the Commission
considers that Turkey has fulfilled this requirement.
Ø  Ensure
full and effective access to identity documents for the refugees and stateless
persons residing in Turkey.
The
Commission considers that this requirement is almost fulfilled.
The
Commission recommends that the Turkish authorities continue working to ensure both
timely registration and access to proper identity documents for all applicants
and beneficiaries of international protection present in the country.

 Provide accessible information on
     registration requirements to foreigners wishing to reside in Turkey, and
     ensure equal and transparent implementation of respective legislation.

In light of the provisions of the new Law
on Foreigners and International Protection, the Commission considers that this
requirement is fulfilled.
5.2.3. Citizens’ rights and respect for
and protection of minorities  
Ø  Develop
and implement policies addressing effectively Roma social exclusion,
marginalisation and discrimination in access to education and health services,
as well as its difficulty to access to identity cards, housing, employment and
participation in public life;
The Commission considers that this requirement is only partially
fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish authorities:

 adopt a comprehensive strategy and
     action plan for improving the situation of Roma in Turkey, taking
     inspiration from the provisions of the 2011 EU framework for national Roma
     integration strategies and involving Roma civil society organisations in implementing
     and monitoring the strategy; 
 provide the
     relevant government department with appropriate resources to effectively
     coordinate implementation of the strategy and
     action plan;
 increase the collection of qualitative and
     quantitative data on Roma integration and on progress made through implementing
     this comprehensive Roma strategy and action plan;
 ensure that, as part of the planned housing
     measures for Roma people, integrated social inclusion
     programmes accompany housing measures; and
 adopt legislation on
     anti-discrimination, taking inspiration from the EU acquis on equal
     treatment of people regardless of racial or ethnic origin.   

Ø  Ratify
Additional Protocols Nos 4 and 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights
(ECHR);
As Turkey has signed but not ratified Protocols Nos 4 and 7 to the
Convention, the Commission considers this requirement partially fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish authorities ratify and
implement these two Protocols.
Turkey
could also conduct a study to check the compliance of its domestic legislation
with the provisions in the above-mentioned Protocols. If the study reveals substantial
gaps, the Commission recommends that Turkey adopt appropriate measures.

 Revise - in line with the ECHR and
     with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law, the EU acquis
     and EU Member States practices - the legal framework as regards organised
     crime and terrorism, as well as its interpretation by the courts and by
     the security forces and the law enforcement agencies, so as to ensure the
     right to liberty and security, the right to a fair trial and freedom of
     expression, of assembly and association in practice.

The Commission considers
this requirement only partially fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish authorities:

 continue implementing the action plan on preventing
     ECHR violations and providing the necessary human and financial resources
     in order to ensure it is implemented and monitored;
 continue
     their constructive engagement in the ‘Incal’ group of cases, in order to
     ensure that the Committee of Ministers ultimately ends its supervision  of
     this group of cases;
 take
     measures to ensure the effective implementation of individuals’ rights to
     apply to the Constitutional Court and to strengthen the Ombudsman and the
     National Human Rights Institutions;
 continue
     reviewing and amending anti-terror legislation, taking inspiration from EU
     standards and working with representatives from civil society
     organisations;
 take
     all necessary steps to ensure that law enforcement officials, judges and
     prosecutors interpret the current legislation consistently, taking into
     account the provisions of the ECHR and the case-law of the European Court
     of Human Rights, including awareness-raising, training, and setting an
     independent and impartial body to investigate police offences.

6. BLOCK 5: READMISSION OF
IRREGULAR MIGRANTS  
6.1. General assessment
Implementation in this area requires
substantial further work. Some positive initiatives already taken by Turkey
deserve recognition, notably the ratification of the EU-Turkey readmission
agreement and the creation of a new administrative structure responsible for
managing the readmission process.
However, the agreement has entered into
force only on 1 October 2014 and therefore a track record of its implementation
could not yet be collected. Furthermore, a key provision of the agreement,
relating to the readmission of migrants who are third-country nationals, will  only
start to apply three years after that date, and therefore it will not be
possible to comprehensively assess the implementation of this block of
requirements until then. Another key requirement in this block, relating to the
full implementation of existing readmission obligations with individual EU
Member States,  can be assessed at this time but is unfortunately not being
fulfilled satisfactorily.
6.2. Detailed comments on the benchmarks
under the readmission block
Ø  Fully
and effectively implement the readmission obligations existing with the Member
States;
Because of the poor rate of
acceptance by Turkish authorities of readmission requests sent by Greece and
the fact that, in 2013, they unilaterally decided to discontinue cooperating
with Bulgaria on readmission matters (which they had done until that point), the
Commission considers that this requirement is not fulfilled.   
The Commission recommends that Turkey
implement all of its readmission obligations towards Member States and maintain
a good level of cooperation in this area of work.
Ø  Ratify the EU-Turkey readmission agreement initialled on 21 June
2012;
As the readmission agreement has been
ratified by Turkey, this requirement is fulfilled.
Ø  Fully and effectively implement the EU-Turkey readmission
agreement in all its provisions, in such a manner as to provide a solid track
record of the fact that readmission procedures function properly in relation to
all Member States;
As the readmission agreement
with the EU has entered into force only on 1 October 2014, and some key
provisions of the agreement will start applying only three years after that
date, the Commission considers that this benchmark is not fulfilled.
Ø  Establish and implement internal procedures allowing for the rapid
and effective identification and return of Turkish citizens, third-country nationals and stateless persons who
do not, or no longer, fulfill the conditions for entry to, presence in,
or residence on the territories of one of the Member States, and for the
facilitated transit of persons to be returned to their country of destination,
in a spirit of cooperation;
Turkey has internal procedures for
returning irregular migrants, and these are normally smoothly implemented as
regards Turkish citizens. No evidence was available of procedures to ensure
that readmission of irregular migrants, particularly those that are nationals
of third countries, takes place within the required deadlines. The Commission
considers that this requirement is therefore only partially fulfilled.
The Commission recommends that the Turkish
authorities develop the internal procedures mentioned in this requirement,
including those to ensure the smooth implementation of accelerated border procedures,
and keep the Commission updated on progress.
The Turkish authorities should complete
the recruitment and training of staff in the General Directorate for Migration
Management, which now leads on readmission and return operations relating to
third-country nationals. The authorities should also clearly set out the General
Directorate’s responsibilities and the way it will work with the relevant staff
in other law enforcement agencies and border authorities who lead on dealing
with irregular migrants.
Ø  Strengthen the capacity of the competent authority to process
readmission applications within the timeframe given in the readmission
agreement and reduce the number of pending readmission requests, including
those related to third country nationals;
The implementation of the
readmission agreement between the EU and Turkey has begun only very recently.
Furthermore, for three years after its entry into force the agreement will be
implemented only partially due to the non-applicability of some of its provisions.
For these reasons, it is not yet possible to assess how closely the deadlines
set under the agreement to process readmission applications are respected, and
therefore the Commission considers that this requirement is not fulfilled.
Ø  Ensure that applications for readmission are processed in
compliance with the domestic and the EU data protection requirements;
As Turkey has not yet adopted
legislation on data protection in line with EU standards, this requirement is not
fulfilled.
Ø  Compile and share in a timely manner with the competent
authorities of Member States and the European Commission detailed statistics on
readmission;
As implementation of the
readmission agreement between the EU and Turkey has not yet begun, it is not yet
possible to see how statistics on readmission are compiled and shared, and
therefore the Commission considers that this requirement is not fulfilled.  
7. STATISTICS  
7.1. General assessment
The statistical indicators in the Roadmap
selected to monitor changes in Turkey’s risk profile show a moderately positive
trend, with two exceptions. One exception is cooperation in the area of
readmission, which remains poor. The other exception is the increasing number
of people arriving in the EU from Turkey that are found to be using forged and
fraudulent travel documents.
7.2. Detailed comments on statistics
Ø  The
visa refusal rate for applicants from Turkey;
The visa refusal rate in Turkey has been
slightly but steadily decreasing.

 In 2010, 6.73  % of C-type visas
     requested were rejected (slightly above the average rate of refusal by EU Member
     State Embassies worldwide of 5.79 %).
 In 2011, 5,04  % of  C-type visas
     requested were rejected (slightly less the average rate of refusal by EU Member
     State Embassies worldwide of 5.5 %).
 In 2012, 4.51 % of C-type
     visas applied for were rejected (slightly less the average rate of refusal
     by EU Member State Embassies worldwide of 4,77% ).
 In 2013  780 846 C-type
     visas were requested, and 36 901 were refused; a 4.7 % rejection
     rate (slightly less than the average rate of refusal by EU Member State Embassies
     worldwide of 4.8 %).

While there was a decrease in the visa
refusal rate, the number of Schengen visa applications made in Turkey continued
to increase (by 61 % between 2009 and 2013), to 780 846 applications for
C-type visas issued in 2013.
Ø  The
rate of refused entry into the common Schengen area for Turkish citizens;
The number of Turkish citizens refused
entry into the Schengen area decreased from 1 889 in 2011, to 1 763
in 2012, and to 1 715 in 2013. 
Ø  The
number of Turkish citizens found to be  illegally entering into or staying in
the territory of the Member States;
The number of Turkish citizens found to
be illegally entering the territory of an EU Member State decreased from 700 in
2011, to 416 in 2012, and to 317 in 2013.  
The number of Turkish citizens found to
be illegally staying in the territory of an EU Member State decreased from 7 803
in 2011, to 7 220 in 2012, and to 6 744 in 2013.
In both of the above cases, a positive trend
can be seen.  
Ø  The
total number of asylum applications from Turkish citizens in the EU Member
States;  
The number of asylum applications from
Turkish citizens has been decreasing since 2008. Application numbers fell from
7 115 in 2008, to 7 030 in 2009, 6 360 in 2010, 6 505 in
2011, 6 210 in 2012, and 5 625 in 2013. Although the number is
relatively high for a stable and democratic country such as Turkey, the trend
for this requirement is positive.
However, the proportion of positive
asylum decisions has increased from 11 % in 2008 to 19.3 % in 2013,
which implies that the number of Turkish nationals recognised as needing international
protection has been increasing.
Ø  The
number of readmission applications, including applications of third country
nationals, submitted by the Member States to Turkey and which were rejected by
the latter;
The number of irregular migrants
returned to Turkey in 2011, 2012 and 2013 by EU Member States, was, respectively,
2 643, 2 161 and 1 777, of whom 1 866, 1 666 and 1 445
were Turkish nationals.
The number of irregular migrants (mostly
non-Turkish nationals) for whom the Greek authorities made readmission requests
in 2011, 2012 and 2013 was 18 758, 20 464 and 3 413,
respectively. The number of requests that the Turkish authorities rejected or did
not reply to positively was extremely high, amounting to 17 206 (91 %)
in 2011, 19 641 (96 %) in 2012 and 3 079 (90 %) in 2013.
Ø  The
number of third-country nationals, arrived directly from the territory of
Turkey, found trying to illegally cross the EU external borders or illegally
staying within the EU
The number of third-county nationals
arriving directly from Turkish territory into the EU amounted to 56 201 in
2011, 36 307 in 2012, and 24 262 in 2013. These numbers are
relatively high, but there is a downwards trend.
Ø  The
number of third-country nationals, arrived to the EU or trying to cross the
external borders of the EU, coming directly from the territory of Turkey, that
were found with illegal travel documents
The number of people (including Turkish
and third-country nationals) coming directly from Turkish territory that were
found at any EU border crossing point with illegal documents amounted to 629 in
2011, 927 in 2012 and 1 693 in 2013. The numbers are increasing. The largest
proportion of these people (84 % of the total, in 2013) had arrived from
Turkey by plane.
Ø  The
number of operations carried out by Turkish law enforcement agencies against
criminal organisations dealing with trafficking of human beings and smuggling
of migrants, as well as the number of apprehended traffickers and smugglers.
It was not possible to obtain clear statistics
on the overall results achieved on these issues by the Turkish authorities as a
whole, but only separate statistics related to the results achieved by some of
the law enforcement bodies. The Report on Anti-Smuggling and Organised Crime
2013, issued by the Turkish police, listed 312 and 335 operations carried out
in 2012 and 2013 respectively, related to combating migrants' smuggling, as
well as 24 and 17 operations related to combating trafficking in human beings.
These operations led to the prosecution of, respectively, 1036 and 918 smugglers
of migrants, and 140 and 89 traffickers in human beings.
8. CONCLUSIONS
The EU-Turkey visa liberalisation
dialogue has effectively started with the Commission’s presentation of the ‘Roadmap
towards visa-free regime with Turkey’ on 16 December 2013.
This first report on the implementation
of the Roadmap, which is the result of the first year of discussions, shows that
Turkey is already well advanced on implementing several of the benchmarks in
the Roadmap and has the capacity to make further progress on fulfilling all the
benchmarks, provided that the Turkish authorities develop its cooperation with
the EU and all its Member States in the relevant areas, and launch and
implement several essential legislative and administrative reforms. However,
the legal and administrative situation and developments in Turkey, as well as
its overall cooperation with the EU, have not yet reached a stage that would
enable the Commission to propose to the Council and the European Parliament, that
the Schengen visa requirement for the Turkish citizens be lifted.  
Detailed indications on areas where
reforms and cooperation are needed have been provided in this report. The
following list summarises the most prominent issues.

 On document security, Turkey will
     need to start issuing new passports that include biometric data, in line
     with the EU acquis, and develop effective information sharing and
     cooperation with EU Member States in detecting forged and fraudulent
     travel documents.
 On migration management, Turkey will
     need to ensure the effective and comprehensive implementation of the new Law
     on Foreigners and International Protection, including through adopting appropriate
     secondary legislation, and will need to complete the setting up of the
     General Directorate for Migration Management.
 Measures should be taken in Turkey
     to make progress on setting up a more modern, effective and integrated
     border management system, and to ensure the strengthening of the visa
     system, as well as  the development of stronger border cooperation with EU
     Member States.
 The EU-Turkey readmission agreement
     has entered into force on 1 October 2014. The EU expects now its full and
     effective implementation vis-à-vis all Member States. Meanwhile, the bilateral
     readmission obligations already in place between Turkey and the EU Member
     States should be more effectively respected.
 On public order and security, the
     Turkish authorities need to sign, ratify, and start implementing several
     international conventions, to implement them on the basis of a cooperative
     approach, to adopt national legislation in line with European and international
     standards, and continue the reform of Turkey's justice system, in view of safeguarding
     its independence and efficiency. This will help support Turkey’s law
     enforcement agencies in the fight against organised crime, and help develop
     police and judicial cooperation with their counterparts in the EU Member
     States. 
 Progress on data protection, in
     particular, will allow, inter alia, for improved relationships with
     Europol and Eurojust.
 In the area of
     fundamental rights, Turkey should continue to revise anti-terrorism
     legislation and work on ensuring that this legislation is implemented, in
     line with provisions in the ECHR and the case-law of the European Court of
     Human Rights.
 Turkey will also need to adopt and implement a comprehensive strategy and action plan to
     improve the situation for people with Roma heritage living in Turkey and will
     need to adopt legislation to prevent discrimination and facilitate social
     inclusion.

The Commission is confident that the
Turkish authorities will make their best efforts to develop and implement these
reforms and cooperation, and invites them to keep the Commission informed of
any development relevant to the fulfilment of the requirements of the
benchmarks. 
The Commission remains committed
to making use of all available EU financial and technical resources, notably inter
alia those available under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance, to
support Turkey on this endeavour. 
The Commission is doing this out of a
desire for partnership and burden-sharing, but also due to its awareness of the
fact that most of the measures which would support Turkey’s progress towards
visa liberalisation as set out in the Roadmap and recommended in this report
will also — if properly implemented — promote further alignment of Turkey’s
legislation, administrative capacities and practices with EU standards. 
The
Commission will continue to monitor the progress Turkey makes in implementing
the benchmarks in the ‘Roadmap towards the visa-free regime’, and the specific
recommendations in this report. It will issue a second report within the next
twelve months.  
[1] 
The
Commission's 2014 Progress Report on Turkey SWD(2014) 307 accompanying the
Communication 'Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2014-15', COM(2014)700
of 8.10.2014