Netherlands: Limit Turkish, Ukrainians entering EU visa free

The Netherlands, Germany and France want the European Commission to put extra safeguards in place against a mass influx of Turks and Ukrainians once they are able to enter the EU without visas. The expectation is that the visa-requirement will be lifted for these countries this summer, the Volkskrant reports.

Turkey has a resident count of about 80 million people, and some 45 million people live in the Ukraine. These numbers make some European Union member states concerned about being overrun with visitors from Turkey and the Ukraine.

The Netherlands, Germany and France therefore wants the European Commission to take initiative and put safeguards in place. The three countries want Member States to be able to temporarily reinstate the visa-requirement if they are overrun by visitors from visa-free countries.

On Wednesday the European Commission proposed that the visa-requirement be abolished for Ukrainians coming to the European Union for less than 90 days. The same agreement was made with Turkey in March, in exchange for the country taking back all asylum seekers arriving at the Greek islands.

According to the Commission, the Ukraine already complies with all requirements for visa-free traveling in the EU - Ukrainian passports are fraud-resistant, the country's border control is in order and the judiciary and police force functions properly. Turkey has until end May to demonstrate that the country complies to all criteria.