Schengen Area

Turkey is expecting a big step from the European Union on May 4 toward ending visa requirements for Turkish citizens, as a deal to get Turkey to stop migrants from entering the bloc gathers pace.

The EU's executive commission is expected to invite member states and lawmakers to vote before the end of June to lift visas on Turks for short-term leisure or business stays. 

EU countries refusing to accept refugees could face a penalty of €250,000, according to a Financial Times report. The punitive clause is one of the most controversial points included in the revised Dublin accord on asylum seekers, expected to be presented by the European Commission on Wednesday.

The European Commission will give Turks "conditional approval" to travel to the Schengen zone without visas, the BBC has reported, quoting "sources."

The British broadcaster said on its website that "the move is part of a deal in which Turkey is taking back migrants who have crossed over the Aegean Sea to Greece."

Even though Greece has improved its record considerably since first being criticized by Brussels, there are still "some deficiencies" in its border management, European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said on Monday.

A number of Bulgarian-made fake passports with Schengen visas were found in the belongings of jihadist fighters that had been operating in Southern Italy, a local daily says.

A jihadist cell made up mostly of Iraqis and Iranians intended on using the documents to cross into Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway, Sole 24 ore reports citing Italian anti-terror officials.

The forthcoming two days mark a crucial 48 hours for Turkey to come one step closer to having its citizens granted visa-free travel inside the European Union, as part of the Turkey-EU migrant deal reached to curb the flow of migrants into the bloc. 

Germany will ask the European Commission to allow an extension of temporary border controls within the Schengen zone of passport-free travel beyond mid-May, Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere said on Saturday.

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and Sweden have proposed to the European Commission to extend temporary controls at the internal borders of the Schengen Area to tackle migration flows more efficiently, Die Welt reported on Saturday.

A joint attempt by France and Germany to build a so-called "emergency brake" for future visa-free travel agreements with non-EU countries such as Turkey has led to debate as the attempt has been revealed only days before the EU's executive arm is to decide on May 4 whether to recommend that member states approve the visa waiver scheme by the end of June.

The distribution of new biometric passports containing chips, which are necessary to travel to Schengen countries, will start on June 1, with the government working on the necessary legal regulations. 

The new passports are among the 72 criteria required by the body for granting visa exemption to Turkish citizens in light of a Turkey-EU migrant deal signed on March 20.