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Tuesday, April 19, 2016

EU will not water down criteria for Turkish visa waiver

[A woman adjusts the Turkish flag next to the EU flag before the arrival of Turkish PM Davutoglu at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels]By Gabriela Baczynska STRASBOURG (Reuters) - Turkey must meet all criteria for visa-free travel with Europe, a top European Union official said on Tuesday, after Ankara threatened to walk away from a crucial migration deal with Brussels unless it eased travel rules for Turkish citizens. The EU depends on Turkey for a deal its backers say has already contributed to stemming the flow of refugees and migrants across the Aegean sea to Greece since it was enacted earlier in April, despite criticism from rights groups. In the deal, Ankara was promised more EU funding for refugees living on its soil, revival of long-stalled EU accession talks and quicker visa liberalisation.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.news.yahoo.com