The second Turkey-EU High Level Dialogue on Migration and Security was held in Brussels yesterday between the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson and the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Turkey Ali Yerlikaya.
A press release by the European Commission notes that Turkey “is an EU candidate country and an important EU partner for migration and security.”
Under this framework, the parties met to discuss ways for their respective migration and law enforcement agencies to work more closely on irregular migration, border security, migrant smuggling, counterterrorism and organized crime.
Also on the agenda was the Visa Liberalization Dialogue, an important point for the EU candidate country, it an effort to facilitate its citizens by accelerating the issuance of visa.
To facilitate the abovementioned processes, the announcement stated that the two parties will start engaging at the technical and senior official level.
Turkey, officially known Türkiye since 2021, is a neighboring country of Greece and key transit country for migrants trying to make their way to Europe.
Migrants are often facilitated on their journey to the EU, via Greece, by human traffickers operating in Turkey. The two key points of entry to Greece are via the land border between Greece and Turkey in the north (Evros river), and via the sea with boats departing from Turkey’s shores destined for various Greek islands.
