REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Second Report on progress by Turkey in fulfilling the requirements of its visa liberalisation roadmap
Date: 2016-03-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU visa policy, Türkiye, biometrics, border control, frontier, fundamental rights, identity document, migration policy, right of asylum, trafficking in human beings

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.3.2016  COM(2016) 140 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Second Report on progress by Turkey in fulfilling the requirements of its visa liberalisation roadmap {SWD(2016) 97 final}  
 
 
1. INTRODUCTION 

The  European  Union  (the  EU)  launched  the  Visa  Liberalisation  Dialogue  ("VLD")  with 
Turkey on 16 December 2013, in parallel with the signature of the EU-Turkey Readmission 
Agreement.1 The VLD is based on the Roadmap towards a visa free regime with Turkey (the 
Roadmap),  a  document  setting  out  the  requirements  that  Turkey  needs  to  meet  in  order  to 
enable the Commission to propose to the European Parliament and the Council an amendment 
to  the  Regulation  (EC) No 539/2001  which would  allow Turkish  citizens to  travel for short 
stays (i.e. of 90 days within any 180-day period) in the Schengen area without a visa. The 72 
requirements  listed  in  the  Roadmap  are  organised  in  five  thematic  groups  ("blocks"): 
document security; migration management; public order and security; fundamental rights and 
readmission of irregular migrants.  

On  20  October  2014,  the  Commission  adopted  its  First  report  on  progress  by  Turkey  in 
fulfilling  the  requirements  of  its  visa  liberalisation  roadmap  (the  First  Report).2  The  First 
Report assessed the fulfilment of each requirement and issued recommendations for making 
further progress in all of them.  

After the publication of the First Report, high-level meetings of the VLD were held between 
the  Commission  and  Turkish  authorities  on  26  February  2015,  14  December  2015  and 
19 January  2016.  The  Commission  organised  seven  technical  missions  to  Turkey  between 
April  and  July  2015,  involving  experts  from  Member  States,  the  Commission,  Frontex, 
EASO,  Europol  and  the  EU  Delegation  to  Turkey,  to  study  Turkey's  legislation  and 
administrative  practices  and  evaluate  possible  progress  made 
the 
requirements of the Roadmap. In addition, two meetings of the Joint Readmission Committee 
took  place  on  15  July  2015  and  19  January  2016,  to  assess  the  implementation  of  the  EU-
Turkey Readmission Agreement.  

implementing 

in 

Discussions with Turkish authorities on how to foster Turkey's progress in implementing the 
Roadmap  were  also  held  on  the  occasion  of  the  negotiation  of  the  EU-Turkey  Joint  Action 
Plan, which was agreed ad referendum on 15 October 20153, and of the EU-Turkey Summit 
of  29  November  2015.  At  the  Summit,  the  Turkish  side  expressed  its  commitment  to 
accelerate the fulfilment of the Roadmap, including by anticipating the application of all the 
provisions  of  the  EU-Turkey  Readmission  agreement,  with  the  objective  to  possibly  obtain 
visa liberalisation by October 20164. The commitment was welcomed by the European Union. 

This  second  report  on  progress  by  Turkey  in  fulfilling  the  requirements  of  its  visa 
liberalisation  roadmap  (the  Second  Report)  is  based  on  information  collected  by  the 
Commission  during 
the  above-mentioned  experts'  missions  and  meetings  and  on 
communications  received  from  Turkish  authorities,  Member  States,  EU  agencies  and  other 
sources. It provides an analysis of the state of play of the implementation of the requirements 
of  the  Roadmap  by  Turkey  as  of  February  2016,  and  lists  specific  recommendations  on  the 
measures that Turkey should take to make further progress towards the complete fulfilment of 
these requirements.  

1  http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-1259_en.htm 
2  COM(2014)  646  final  Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council  on  progress  by  Turkey 
liberalisation  roadmap  
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-1173_en.htm 
3 The text of the Joint Action Plan can be read at http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-15-5860_en.htm 
4 For the full text of the statement adopted at the Meeting of EU heads of state or government with Turkey see  
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/11/29-eu-turkey-meeting-statement/ 

the  requirements  of 

in  fulfilling 

its  visa 

2 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
The  Second  Report  is  accompanied  by  a  Commission  Staff  Working  Document  (CSWD)5, 
which describes in detail a considerable number of relevant measures which Turkey has taken 
and is implementing towards fulfilling the requirements of the Roadmap since October 2014. 
In  addition,  as  required  by  VLD  methodology,  the  CSWD  analyses  the  expected  migratory 
impact of any future visa liberalisation6. 

The Second Report follows the structure of the Roadmap and therefore addresses, one by one, 
the  five  blocks  indicating  for  each  of  them  the  requirements  which  are  not  yet  entirely 
fulfilled, and recommending measures that would allow the Turkish authorities to reach this 
objective.    

 2. BLOCK 1: DOCUMENT SECURITY 

The First Report noted that Turkey had already achieved a good level of progress in fulfilling 
the benchmarks in the document security block.  

Some  additional  positive  developments,  which  are  detailed  further  in  the  CSWD,  occurred 
recently,  notably  the  withdrawal  of  the  few  remaining  non-biometric  passports  from 
circulation,  the  introduction  of  a  more  secure  procedure  to  invalidate  expired  passports  in 
order  to  avoid  their  possible  re-use  for  forgeries,  and  the  adoption  of  legal  and  technical 
measures allowing to start issuing soon new more reliable identity cards including biometric 
data and having a validity of 10 years.  

Despite  this  progress,  Turkey  still  needs  to  take  further  important  measures  in  order  to 
complete the fulfilment of the requirements set out under this block:  

 

the  security  features  of  Turkish  passports  should  be  aligned  with  EU  standards  as 
outlined  in  Council  Regulation  2252/2004,  i.e.  Turkey  should  start  issuing  passports 
with a contactless chip which includes not only the facial image of the holder, but also 
the holder’s fingerprints;7  

  Turkish law enforcement agencies should start to timely share information on forged 
and  fraudulent  documents  found  on  passengers  travelling  to  the  EU  with  their 
counterparts in the Member States ;  

 

the capacity of Turkish police and of the ground staff of airline companies operating in 
the main Turkish international airports to detect forged or fraudulent travel documents, 
visas  and  residence  permits  used  by  passengers  travelling  to  the  EU  should  be 
enhanced,  in  particular  by  increasing  training  and  by  improving  cooperation  with 
immigration liaison officers from Member States located in Turkey.  

3. BLOCK 2: MIGRATION MANAGEMENT 

5 Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the Second Report on progress by Turkey in fulfilling the 
requirements of its visa liberalisation roadmap, SWD(2016)97   
6  The  assessment  of  the  impact  on  security  of  the  visa  liberalisation  with  Turkey  will  be  presented  on  the 
occasion of the publication of the next report.  
7  As  indicated  in  the  Roadmap,  once  granted,  the  right  to  visa  free  travel  will  apply  only  to  Turkish  with 
biometric passport in line with the standards of Council Regulation 2252/2004.  

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
The  First  Report  recognised  that  Turkey  had  already  achieved  a  good  level  of  progress  in 
fulfilling the benchmarks of the second block of the Roadmap. 

Since October 2014, Turkish authorities have taken additional, and substantial steps to further 
strengthen  the  operational  capacities  of  the  Directorate  General  of  Migration  Management 
(DGMM).  Turkey  also  adopted  several  legal  acts  in  the  area  of  international  protection 
including  the  regulation  of  22  October  2014  granting  temporary  protection  status  to  all 
refugees from Syria and the regulation of 15 January 2016 giving these refugees possibility to 
apply for a work permit.  

Turkish authorities stepped up their cooperation on border management with their Greek and 
Bulgarian  counterparts  across  their  common  land  border.  Several  important  measures  were 
also  taken  to  strengthen  the  visa  and  border  management  system.  On  8  January  Turkey  has 
introduced a visa obligation for Syrians entering Turkey by air or by sea from third countries 
and,  on  5  February,  it  abolished  the  possibility  of  obtaining  a  visa  by  Iraqi  citizens  on  the 
border. Turkey proposed the negotiation of bilateral readmission agreements to 14 countries 
and  started  working  on  introducing  transit  visas  for  nationals  of  18  countries  considered  as 
potential source of irregular migration.  

Finally,  to  address  smuggling,  Turkey  stepped  up  efforts  of  its  law  enforcement  agencies, 
including  their  joint  operations  on  land,  and  established  special  units  to  combat  smuggling 
and trafficking in human beings within the Turkish National Police and Gendarmerie. 

Detailed information on all the measures taken is provided in the CSWD.  

Nevertheless, several requirements of block 2 remain only partly fulfilled.  

One of them is linked to the fact that, Turkey continues to apply a discriminatory visa regime 
to the Member States8.  

The  most  important  of  the  requirements  which  remain  to  be  fulfilled  is  related  to  Turkey's 
need to "Carry out adequate border checks and border surveillance […] 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". In 2015 the 
number of migrants and refugees that reached the EU at the land and sea borders by departing 
irregularly from the Turkish territory amounted to 888 457 migrants. This is around 17 times 
the  number  which  had  been  registered  in  the  course  of  2014.  The  problem  unfortunately 
continues and in January 2016, 68 650 were registered9. 
The  increased  irregular  crossings  are  also  linked  to  a  wider  refugee  crisis  triggered  by  the 
ongoing  conflict  in  Syria  and  in  some  other  countries.  The  Turkish  authorities,  who  should 
prevent them, are confronted with an immense challenge, with more than 2.5 million refugees 
from  Syria  and  more  than  200 000  migrants  and  refugees  from  other  countries  residing  on 
Turkish territory. The fact that Turkish Coast Guards apprehended and rescued around 91 612 
migrants and refugees in 2015, seven times more than in 2014, who were trying to irregularly 
reach  the  EU,  must  be  acknowledged.  Nevertheless,  the  measures  taken  by  the  Turkish 
authorities are still insufficient in view of the sheer magnitude of irregular arrivals.  

In  order  to  address  this  challenge  more  successfully,  it  is  necessary  and  urgent  that  the 
Turkish  authorities  continue  putting  in  place  measures  tackling  the  different  aspects  of  the 
problem in a comprehensive manner. In this regard, the Commission recommends that Turkey 
considers the measures described below: 

8 For information on the visa requirements applied to Member States see the CSWD. 
9  The  figures  mentioned  in  this  page  are  elaborations  made  by  the  Commission  services  on  the  basis  of 
information provided by Frontex and the Turkish authorities. All data are indicative and subject to change. 

4 

 
 
                                                            
  First,  the  surveillance  and  interception  capacities  of  the  Turkish  Coast  Guard  in  the 
Aegean  Sea  area  should  be  strengthened.  To  that  end,  the  implementation  of  the 
various projects funded by Turkey and by the EU which are aimed at both developing 
a coastal radar surveillance system, and increasing the number, quality, presence along 
the coast and operational  capacity of the available patrolling vessels, should  be sped 
up.  The  use  of  the  Navy's  radar  system,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  irregular 
departures, could be considered until the coastal radar system is established.  

 

In order to reduce the burden placed on the Coast Guard, the capacity of the Police and 
the  Gendarmerie  to  detect  and  prevent  irregular  departures  of  migrants  while  still 
ashore or far from the land border should be enhanced by patrolling and surveillance 
activities, including through increasing the use of air-surveillance systems. 

  All the authorities that are responsible for the protection of borders and for combatting 
irregular  migration10  should  be  instructed  to  enhance  their  mutual  cooperation, 
intelligence, 
including  by  coordinating 
information and assets, and to increase the number of joint operations. The Centre for 
National  Coordination  and  Common  Risk  Analysis  (NACORAC),  which  the  EU  is 
assisting to establish, should also be put in place as a matter of urgency.   

their  actions  systematically,  sharing 

  The work of all these authorities, as part of preventing irregular departures of migrants 
and  randomly  intercepting  facilitators,  should  also  be  explicitly  focussed  on 
identifying  and  arresting  senior  and  middle-ranking  members  of  migrant  smuggling 
organisations and to seizing their assets. .  

 

In  order  to  reduce  the  number  of  persons  entering  Turkey  irregularly,  surveillance 
along the South-Eastern and Eastern land borders of the country should be enhanced. 
To  that  end,  Turkish  land  forces  should  continue  their  modernisation,  through  the 
increasing deployment of well-trained contractual agents instead of conscripts, as well 
as  via  the  use  of  modern  surveillance  equipment  and  the  adoption  of  flexible 
patrolling.   

  Whenever  possible,  Turkish  authorities  should  develop  cooperation  in  border 
surveillance  activities  and 
information  about  migrant  smuggling 
organisations  with  the  authorities  of  the  countries  of  origin  and  transit  of  irregular 
migrants.      

in  sharing 

In  parallel,  work  should  continue  in  view  of  implementing  other  requirements  and 
recommendations  issued  under  this  block,  the  fulfilment  of  which  will  also  contribute  to 
better preventing irregular migration.  

In the area of border cooperation with the neighbouring Member States, the Commission 
recommends that Turkish authorities consider the following measures:  

 

the agreement on the establishment of a tripartite centre of Capitan Andreevo, signed 
in May 2015, should enter into force without further delay;   

  a secured communication channel to be used for the timely sharing of information on 
migrant  smuggling  activities  should  be  put  in  place  between  the  Turkish  and  the 
Hellenic Coast Guards;  

10  Turkish authorities have informed the Commission that, in light of the current geopolitical situation, they have 
dropped their initial plan, foreseen under the National Action Plan for the Implementation of Turkey's Integrated 
Border Management of 2006, to set up a single, non-military, specialised organisation and transfer to it all the 
responsibilities and resources for border management. 

5 

 
 
                                                            
  Turkey  should  develop  its  operational  cooperation  with  Frontex,  in  order  to  benefit 
from  its  expertise  in  debriefing  intercepted  migrants  and  obtaining  access  to 
information  related  to  the  modus  operandi  of  smuggling  networks  collected  in  this 
manner.   

The  Turkish  visa  system  should  also  be  revised,  in  order  to  better  prevent  third-country 
nationals  to  enter  Turkey  with  the  intention  of  transiting  to  the  EU  by  crossing  its  external 
borders irregularly.  

To  that  end,  building  on  the  measures  already  taken  on  8  January  and  5  February  2016 
regarding respectively, Syrians nationals located outside of Syria and Iraqi citizens, Turkish 
authorities should now give priority to strengthening the visa regime applied to nationals of 
other countries which, in 2015, accounted for the largest numbers of irregular entries into the 
EU  via  Turkey,  namely  Afghans,  Pakistanis,  Iranians,  Moroccans,  Palestinians,  Somalians, 
Bangladeshis, Lebanese, Algerians etc..11 In addition, a careful assessment should be made of 
the potential for irregular migration from any other countries to whose citizens Turkey grants 
a visa waiver or provides the possibility to obtain e-visas. The reference points should be the 
EU's visa-free and visa-required lists12.  

Depending on the visa regime currently applied to different countries, and on the migratory 
and smuggling patterns observed for their nationals, the following measures should be taken 
by Turkey:  

 

 

 

 

 

imposing  a  visa  requirement  on  the  nationals  of  certain  countries  posing  a  high 
migratory risk that are currently benefiting from the visa-free regime; 

in  case  Turkish  authorities  decide  to  maintain  a  visa  waiver  for  nationals  of  third 
countries  that  are  a  potential  source  of  irregular  migration:  conditioning  this 
facilitation  on  the  rapid  signature  and  effective  implementation  of  readmission 
agreements with those countries;  

removing  the  possibility  to  enter  Turkey  with  an  e-visa  for  nationals  of  certain 
countries with high migratory risk for whom this is currently possible, and requiring 
that  instead  they  apply  for  a  visa  at  a  Turkish  diplomatic  mission;  where  a  proper 
verification of the migratory and security risks could be carried out;  

in  case  Turkish  authorities  decide  to  maintain  the  possibility  that  nationals  of  third 
countries  who  are  potential  source  of  irregular  migration  enter  Turkey  with  e-visas: 
submitting those e-visa holders to more thorough checks at the moment of crossing the 
border, in order to verify that they effectively fulfil the criteria required to obtain an e-
visa;  

improving the knowledge and capacity of Turkish consular staff in charge of issuing 
visas, with a view to ascertaining that visa applicants have legitimate reasons to come 
to Turkey and that they intend to return to their home countries; while also enhancing 
the  internal  control  standards  on  the  integrity  of  the  overall  visa-issuing  system, 
especially in embassies located in high-risk countries; 

11 For statistics on the nationalities of the persons who irregularly entered the EU territory via Turkey, see the 
CSWD.  
12  On  the  visa  regime  applied  by  Turkey  to  the  countries  that  are  the  main  sources  of  irregular  migration  and 
comparison with the EU visa system applicable to these countries, see the CSWD 

6 

 
 
                                                            
  airport  transit  visas  should  start  being  requested  from  the  nationals  of  the  countries 

that are identified as the main sources of irregular migration. 

Turkey  should  make  further  progress  in  fulfilling  the  requirements  of  this  block  related  to 
international protection, building on the considerable efforts already made13. In particular: 

  Turkish  authorities  should  continue  working  to  facilitate  the  effective  access  of 
beneficiaries of international protection to social services (notably schooling for their 
children), to legal employment opportunities, decent housing, vocational and linguistic 
training  and  any  initiative  contributing  to  their  social  inclusion  and  economic  self-
reliance within the Turkish society.  

  Furthermore, Turkish authorities should ensure that international protection applicants 
have their claims considered within the shortest possible timeframe, with the result of 
either obtaining one of the protection statuses foreseen by the Turkish legal order or, 
in an unsuccessful case, of receiving an order to leave Turkey. In this context, it is of 
great importance that the DGMM take specific measures to: 

o  reduce the remaining backlog of applications which have been pending for a long 

period of time14;    

o  ensure that migrants, who entered Turkey irregularly and introduced international 
protection applications which were subsequently found ineligible, are returned to 
their country of origin in a timely manner; 

o  prevent asylum applicants whose applications are pending, as well as unsuccessful 
asylum  applicants,  pending  their  departure  from  Turkey,  from  absconding  and 
making secondary movements towards the EU. 

In  order  to  achieve  these  objectives,  it  will  be  useful  to  streamline  procedures,  notably  by 
adopting  the  by-law  defining  the  specific  rules  to  be  followed  to  implement  the  Law  on 
Foreigners and International Protection.  

4. BLOCK 3: PUBLIC ORDER AND SECURITY 

The First Report described both the strengths and deficiencies of the Turkish system when it 
comes to the fulfilment of the requirement of this Block.  

Since  October  2014,  the  Turkish  authorities  have  taken  additional  steps  such  as  the 
ratification, on 19 February 2016, of the Council of Europe (CoE) Convention on Laundering, 
Search,  Seizure  and  Confiscation  of  the  Proceeds  from  Crime  and  on  the  Financing  of 
Terrorism,  the  CoE  Convention  on Action  against  Human  Trafficking,  the  CoE  Convention 
for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, and of 
the Additional Protocol to the CoE Convention on the transfer of sentenced persons.  

However,  it  has  to  be  noted  that  despite  these  developments,  the  implementation  of  the 
requirements of block 3 remains considerably less advanced than blocks 1 and 2. To fulfil its 
requirements, Turkey is encouraged to undertake the following measures:  

 

increase  the  number  of  positive  replies  given  to  requests  for  judicial  cooperation  in 

13  On  the  progress  made  by  Turkey  in  fulfilling  the  requirements  on  international  protection  of  the  Roadmap 
during the reporting period, see the CSWD. 
14 For clarifications on this backlog, see the relevant paragraph in the CSWD.  

7 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
criminal matters submitted by the Member States, as well as the speed of the replies 
and  that  of  their  implementation;  the  adoption  of  a  single  comprehensive  law 
streamlining  the  procedures  followed  while  implementing  Turkey's  international 
obligations  related  to  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters  could  also  be 
considered; 

  actively  engage  with  relevant  authorities  of  all  Member  States  in  the  area  of  police 

cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters; 

  start implementing the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals 
with  regard  to  Automatic  Processing  of  Personal  Data  of  1981,  and  ratify  its 
Additional  Protocol  (CETS  n°  181).  Adopt  legislation  on  the  protection  of  personal 
data in line with the EU and the Council of Europe standards;    

  conclude  an  operational  cooperation  agreement  with  Europol  and  a  cooperation 
agreement  with  Eurojust  as  soon  as  an  adequate  legislative  framework  on  personal 
data protection is in force; until then, Turkish authorities are encouraged to make all 
possible  efforts  to  increase  the  exchange  of  information  and  cooperation  with  these 
two agencies.  

  adopt a new Action Plan for the Fight against Organised Crime for the period 2016-18, 
enabling to strengthen actions in the fight against all forms of organised crime, notably 
the trafficking in drugs, human beings, firearms and counterfeit goods;  

  provide  information  to  the  EU  on  national  and  transnational  criminal  organisations 
currently based in Turkey, indicating their modus operandi, and the approach taken by 
Turkish authorities to combat their criminal activities; 

  start  implementing  the  recently  ratified  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action 
against  Trafficking  in  Beings  (THB)  and  bring  the  Turkish  national  legislative 
framework in  this area in line with  the standards set by this Convention and the EU 
acquis;  

  strengthen the capacity of the DGMM to identify victims of THB and shelter them; 

  start implementing the recently ratified Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, 
Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of 
Terrorism (CETS n°198) and bring the Turkish national legislative framework in this 
area in line with the standards set by this Convention; 

  continue  strengthening  the  capacity  of  the  Department  for  Financial  Investigations 
(MASAK)  to  analyse  suspicious  transactions  and  detect  cases  of  money  laundering 
and financing of terrorism;  

 

fully  align  the  Turkish  legislative  framework  with  the  provisions  of  the  Council  of 
Europe Convention on Cybercrime;  

  adopt  legislation  giving  effective  follow-up  on  all  the  Group  of  States  against 
Corruption (GRECO) recommendations; and adopt a new national action plan against 
corruption, drawn up in consultation with civil society, and entrusting the monitoring 
of  its  implementation  to  a  body  empowered  to  act  with  the  necessary  degree  of 
independence and transparency;   

  establish  training  programmes  and  adopt  ethical  codes  on  anti-corruption  targeting 
officials  involved  in  border  management  and  the  prevention  of  irregular  migration, 
increasing efforts to systematically prosecute bribery offences of any public officials; 

8 

 
 
  sign and ratify the three Additional Protocols of 1975, 2010 and 2012 to the Council 
of Europe Convention on Extradition (CETS n° 24 of 1957), the Additional Protocol 
of  2001  to  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Mutual  Assistance  in  Criminal 
Matters  (CETS  n°  30  of  1959);  and  start  implementing    the  Additional  Protocol  of 
1997 to the Council of Europe Convention on Transfer of Sentenced Persons (CETS 
n° 112 of 1983); 

  sign  and  ratify  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 the 2007 Hague Convention on the 
International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance; 

 

reduce  the  delays  in  implementing  the  judicial  proceedings  under  the  1980  Hague 
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction; 

5. BLOCK 4: FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS 

The First Report stated that many of the requirements under this block had been already met; 
nevertheless  it  also  identified  a  few  areas  of  great  importance  where  further  progress  was 
needed.  

Since  then,  little  has  happened  in  these  areas,  and  therefore  the  relevant  recommendations 
issued by the First Report remain largely valid. In view of this, Turkey is invited to:  

 

revise Turkish legislation on terrorism with the aim of aligning it with the EU acquis, 
the  Council  of  Europe  standards  and  with  the  European  Court  of  Human  Rights 
(ECtHR) jurisprudence on terrorism;   

  adopt  legislation  on  anti-discrimination,  taking  inspiration  from  the  EU  acquis  on 

equal treatment of people regardless of their racial or ethnic origin; 

  adopt a national action plan aimed at improving the situation of Roma in Turkey, and 
ensuring the involvement of Roma civil society organisations in the  monitoring of its 
implementation;  

 

ratify  Protocols  4  and  7  to  the  European  Convention  on  Human  Rights  (ECHR),  or, 
alternatively,  ensure  or  demonstrate  that  equivalent  provisions  are  included  into  the 
Turkish legal framework;    

  continue  implementing  the  Action  Plan  on  Preventing  European  Convention  of 
Human Rights (ECHR) Violations and giving follow-up to the jurisprudence issued by 
the ECtHR in the ‘Incal’ group of cases; 

  continue  providing  training,  support  and  instruction  to  law  enforcement  officials, 
judges and prosecutors in order to enable them to interpret current legislation, taking 
into account the ECtHR and the case-law of the ECtHR;  

  adopt  the  law  establishing  an  independent  commission  to  supervise  on  law 

enforcement agencies' possible violations of persons' rights.  

6. BLOCK 5:  READMISSION OF IRREGULAR MIGRANTS   

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The  First  Report  noted  a  very  poor  implementation  of  the  requirements  of  this  block.  The 
CSWD reports about some positive developments that took place since then.  

In  particular,  since  the  November  Summit,  Turkey  has  intensified  its  contact  with  Greek 
authorities  in  view  of  improving  the  implementation  of  the  existing  bilateral  protocol.  A 
number of technical meetings took place that resulted in Turkey accelerating the assessment 
of all pending 864 readmission applications submitted by Greece in 2016. In February 2016, 
Turkey also proposed to Bulgaria the conclusion of a bilateral protocol under the EU-Turkey 
readmission agreement.   

There are however several important actions that Turkey should enact. In particular, Turkey 
needs to: 

  start  applying  and  effectively  implement,  with  regard  to  all  Member  States,  the 
provisions  of  the  EU-Turkey  Readmission  Agreement  related  to  third-country 
nationals, which Turkey has committed to do as of 1 June 2016;  

  until  then,  considerably  improve  the  fulfilment  of  existing  bilateral  readmission 
obligations; in particular, in the context of the agreement with Greece, Turkey should:  

o 

o 

intensify its efforts to reply within the deadlines to readmission requests, notably 
by applying the accelerated procedure foreseen by the bilateral protocol;  

increase  the  number  of  positive  replies  and  otherwise  systematically  provide 
justifications for refusals; 

o  open additional seaports for facilitating the delivery of the readmitted persons; 

o  exchange  liaison  officers  to  facilitate  identification  and  readmission  of  illegal 

migrants; 

 

improve  the  implementation  of  the  already  applicable  provisions  of  the  EU-Turkey 
readmission  agreement  related  to  return  and  readmission  of  its  own  nationals  and 
stateless  persons,  which  at  present  are  not  enforced  in  a  systematic  manner  by  all 
Turkish diplomatic missions.  

7. CONCLUSIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD 

Following  a  period  in  2015  during  which  Turkey  had  made  only  limited  progress  towards 
implementing the Roadmap, the situation changed at the EU-Turkey Summit of 29 November 
2015 and since then, Turkish authorities have been intensifying their efforts in this direction.  

The Commission welcomes the new level of engagement and determination demonstrated by 
Turkish authorities, takes note of a number of important steps forward they have already made 
and encourages them to further accelerate the reform process, by addressing the outstanding 
issues identified in this Report as a matter of urgency, in order to fulfil all the requirements of 
the Roadmap by October 2016, as ambitiously sought by Turkey.  

The  Commission  will  continue  to  assist  Turkey  in  the  implementation  of  the  Roadmap  and 
will actively monitor the developments occurring in this context, with a view to presenting a 
new progress report in autumn 2016. 

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