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IKV, Fondation pour le Développement Economique

IKV

La Fondation pour le Développement Economique remplit les fonctions de représentation et de recherche au nom du monde d'affaires turc dans le domaine des affaires communautaires, étudier, analyser et informer le monde d'affaires turc sur 1'évolution de 1'Union Européenne, demeurent les fonctions essentielles de l'IKV.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Antoine Colombani (Head of Unit Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood)

25 Sept 2025 · EU-TR Trade and Economic relations

Response to EU visa policy strategy

16 Sept 2025

Visa-related challenges continue to pose significant obstacles for Turkish citizens seeking to travel to the EU. These challenges -ranging from high rejection rates and limited appointment availability to application costs- have persisted for many years and have intensified in recent times. The Visa Liberalization Dialogue between Türkiye and the EU, initiated in 2013 in parallel with the signing of the Türkiye-EU Readmission Agreement, was launched with the objective of facilitating easier and more predictable travel conditions for Turkish nationals. Despite the passage of over a decade, the dialogue has yet to produce any tangible results. On the contrary, Turkish citizens are facing increasingly burdensome visa procedures, marked by a sharp rise in rejections and restricted access to consular services. Stagnation of the Visa Liberalisation Dialogue While there have been recent efforts to revitalize Türkiye-EU relations, the stagnation of the Visa Liberalization Dialogue stands out as a key area of concern. This prolonged impasse has contributed to a growing sense of mistrust between the two sides. While it is up to the Turkish authorities to complete all the required criteria in the visa liberalisation roadmap, it is incumbent upon the EU to further facilitate the process and keep the dialogue dynamic. Türkiye is the only candidate country without visa free access to the Schengen area. The introduction of the EES and ETIAS will create important changes in mobility rules in the EU Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. Going forward, re-establishing trust and ensuring concrete progress in the visa liberalization process will be essential to fostering stronger and more cooperative Türkiye-EU relations.Over the past decade, Schengen visa rejection rates have increased significantly. In 2014, the overall rejection rate for Schengen visa applications stood at 5.09%. By 2023, this figure had risen to 15.81%. The trend is even more pronounced in the case of Turkish citizens. While the rejection rate for Turkish applicants was 4.42% in 2014, it surged to 16.05% in 2023 reflecting a heavy increase. These figures suggest that Türkiye has become part of a broader pattern among EU Member States, characterized by increasingly restrictive visa issuance practices. The growing rate of rejections has created serious disruptions across various sectors, including business, education, tourism, and family-related travel. In addition to causing emotional and logistical distress, these disruptions also lead to increased transaction costs and opportunity losses for individuals and institutions alike. Numerous media reports have highlighted cases in which visa applications were denied despite applicants having demonstrably strong ties to Türkiye -such as public sector employment, regular rental payments, prior international travel history, invitation letters from host institutions, or degrees from universities abroad. These examples have contributed to rising public frustration. Beyond outright rejections, Turkish applicants frequently encounter other procedural issues, such as the issuance of very short-term visas or significant delays in visa processing, often announced just days before the planned travel date. The increasing frequency of such practices, which are widely viewed as lacking in transparency and justification, has reinforced the perception among Turkish citizens that the visa application process is becoming increasingly arbitrary and unpredictable. In the short term, a range of practical policy measures should be considered to alleviate the current difficulties faced by Turkish nationals in the Schengen visa process. These include the standardization and digitalization of documentation requirements, accelerating the entire application process. Greater transparency and accountability in application evaluations, along with the establishment of a functional remonstration mechanism that includes the possibility of refunds is recommended.
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Meeting with Pierre Pimpie (Member of the European Parliament)

20 Feb 2025 · EU Turkey report 2025

Meeting with Pierre Pimpie (Member of the European Parliament) and Turkish Business Confederation

21 Nov 2024 · EU-Turkey relations, EU-Turkey customs union

Meeting with Anthony Agotha (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

20 Jul 2022 · Green transition, EU-TK High Level Climate Dialogue

Meeting with Olivér Várhelyi (Commissioner)

14 Oct 2021 · EU-Turkey investment relations, opportunities and challenges

Meeting with Baiba Aleksejuka-Tavaresa (Cabinet of High Representative Josep Borrell Fontelles)

13 Oct 2021 · EU Turkey relations

Meeting with Baiba Aleksejuka-Tavaresa (Cabinet of High Representative Josep Borrell Fontelles)

27 Feb 2020 · Eu- Turkey relations.

Meeting with Christian Danielsson (Director-General Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood)

23 Nov 2017 · Enlargement negotiations

Meeting with Michael Karnitschnig (Cabinet of Vice-President Johannes Hahn)

12 Oct 2016 · Economic situation in Turkey

Meeting with Michael Karnitschnig (Cabinet of Vice-President Johannes Hahn)

23 Feb 2015 · General discussions on political and economic developments in Turkey

Meeting with Anna Vezyroglou (Cabinet of High Representative / Vice-President Federica Mogherini), Stefano Manservisi (Cabinet of High Representative / Vice-President Federica Mogherini)

23 Feb 2015 · Relation with professional associations