Turkey wants concrete date for European Union visa liberalisation

Istanbul: Turkey's foreign minister says a final proposal has been prepared regarding visa-free travel in Europe for Turkish citizens, an issue that has led to major tensions between Ankara and Brussels.

Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said today that Turkey would be submitting the proposal in the coming days. He says "we're going to demand from the European Union that this matter be bound to a concrete calendar".

Turkey and the EU reached a deal in March to curb migration to Europe in return for incentives that included visa liberalisation for Turks. However, the issue hit a hurdle over Turkey's reluctance to change its counter-terrorism laws.

Cavusoglu reiterated "we will not do anything to the laws on terrorism", but added there were no problems regarding other EU demands.