Bagis urged EU to issue visa-free travel rights to Turkish citizens

In a written statement, Turkey's EU Affairs Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis officially urged the EU to issue visa-free travel rights to Turkish citizens in accordance with a number of European courts' verdicts and bilateral agreements between Turkey and the EU. The written statement issued by Bagis was also sent to EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fule, EU Commissioner responsible for Internal Affairs Cecilia Malstrom, European Parliament Head Martin Schulz, and EU term president Denmark's Foreign Minister Villy Sonvdal. "Turkey's economic achievement in the last decade made the current visa regime redundant. Obviously, the EU countries, which are going through an economic crisis would benefit from the commercial, cultural, educational and touristic visits of Turkish citizens, which would be further enabled by the lifting of the visa requirement," the statement said.