HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Controlling migration and safety issue for Europe has been an important place for EU

memberships. And based on this concept, EU firstly had put the migration and asylum issues to

common interest of member states with the 1992 Maastricht Treaty. And with the 1999

Amsterdam Treaty,The European Community were authorized to states for the first time about

signing readmission agreements.

Negotiations for the Readmission agreement between the European Union and Turkey started in

2003. The first official talks met in Brussels in May 2005, after four meetings, the talks were

suspended in December 2006. (1)

In time, losting in the speed of EU accession negotiations to a halt with the arrival of a

readmission agreement between Turkey and the EU, took place again at the bargaining table.

Both sides, not to see a possibility of Turkey's EU full membership in the near future and due to

becaming an important transit country of Turkey for irregular migration to the EU, agreement

became an important factor in agenda again. With this agreement; visa facilitation and after visa

liberalization process created a Turkey's priority in this new era of negotiations.

Turkey open up to(scak bakmk) readmission permition both its citizens and also third-country

nationals who residence in Turkey but the only issue to be resolved in the negotiations were the

status of third-country nationals that using Turkey as a transit route.

In December of 2009, with re-starting negotiations on a readmission agreement; Turkey repeated

that , in the signing of this agreement, visa facilitation and liberalization process is an essential

element for them.

21 June 2012, the draft agreement was initialed by the parties in Brussels. However, after this

date a deadline and a road map has been not created for final signature of the agreement. (2-A.g.e

Ulusoy 2013)

Nowadays this process a Readmission Agreement will begin with sign in Ankara on December

16. And in the statement made by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, the most important

sections of visa facilitation for interests of the citizens will be include:

-Businessmen, artists, athletes, journalists have many in and out(giri,kl)-visas will be from 2

to 5 years.

-Retirees, under the age of 12, non-governmental organizations managers will not pay the visa

fee.

-Visa applications will be finalized within 15 days.

-If applications reject, reason will be notified in writing and will have the right to sue(dava ama

hakk) in case of rejection.

-Visa fees will reduce from 60 euro to 35 euro.

-Visa will be given to people in a very short time who are previously lived in an EU country for a

long time but then return to Turkey. (3. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/25279888.asp)

TURKEY'S RESERVATION

*Reservation 1: When Readmission Agreement enters into force (yrrle girmek), third

country nationals (not Turkish citizens) who made illegal entry via Turkey to 28 EU countries

will automatically return to Turkey on the agenda. In addition, such as accommodated to these
people, finding them jobs, security problems may occur. Thus Readmission Agreement can bring

financial burden to Turkey. (4. http://t24.com.tr/haber/turkiyenin-vizesiz-avrupa-

seruveni/245781 ) Especially, Greece will be spared from this financial burden. For instance;

proclamation of EU External Border Safety Agency (FRONTEX) : '' Illegal immigration totally

in 2012, 72.437 and 36.877 of it had been in the Turkey-Greece border. (5. Ulusoy,2013)

*Reservation 2: This problems have content of readmission of persons envisaging whose asylum

claim rejected and considering the lack of data on immigrants it appears as a separate charge on.

(6. Elmas,2013)

*Reservation 3: Another issue discussed EU visa facilitation to Turkey for the start of the signing

of Readmission Agreement, such as biometric passports and border security issues must be

running.

Becasue, visa exemption is a subject come up when having a progress in the accession process.

And Readmission Agreement like a cooperation agreement that, countries who are basically not

to allow EU and halt the illegal immigration towards to EU. For example: Entering without a visa

was obtained to Western Balkan countries citizens to EU from 19 December 2009 (Serbia,

Montenegro and Macedonia). EU had lifted (kaldrmak) visa requirements within the scope of

(kapsamnda) visa exemption to citizens of these three countries. But only for visa-free travel. (7.

zcan,2010)

*Reservation 4: In addition, illegal immigration, is the EU's problem not Turkey. And also Turkey

is trying to help to EU for this problem, not the EU to Turkey. So this provide more benefits to

EU from financial aspects. (8. A.g.e)