"This [visa-free regime] may be introduced on October 1 only if all requirements are fulfilled… Terrorism legislation cannot be used for jailing intellectuals, generals, journalists and scientists," the EC president said at the European Forum Alpbach in Austria.
If the Turkish government fails to comply with the requirements, then it will be up to country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to explain to his nationals why they could not travel to Europe without a visa, he added.
"Negotiations with Turkey should continue, though there is no consensus in this country on this issue. I say that not because I expect Turkey's membership in the bloc in 10-15 years, but because we need to continue negotiations with this country," Juncker stressed.
According to the deal agreed on March 18, Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who come ashore in Greece if EU countries have Syrian refugees resettled from Turkish camps on a one-for-one basis. The bloc also promised to accelerate the Turkish EU accession and introduce visa-free regime once Turkey had met the 72 conditions set by the bloc. Ankara has not fulfilled the five conditions that relate to data protection and anti-terror laws so far.
