Turkey makes visa-free travel prerequisite for refugee deal

Turkey’s prime minister insisted on Saturday that the European Union must exempt his country’s citizens from entry visa requirements across the EU in order to implement the refugee deal signed with the bloc. Ahmet Davutoglu used his joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to make his statement.

Merkel visited a camp for Syrian refugees near the Turkish-Syrian border accompanied by EU Council President Donald Tusk and Deputy Commissioner Frans Timmermans. According to Davutoglu, he is confident that the EU will do everything in its power in relation to this issue.

The European Commission will make a decision in May about the visa requirements for Turkish citizens. Ankara has threatened to withdraw from the refugee agreement if the EU refuses to meet this prerequisite.