EU Commissioner and Turkish Minister Meet for High Level Dialogue on Migration and Security

The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Türkiye, Ali Yerlikaya, held a productive meeting in Brussels on 23 November as part of the second Türkiye-EU High Level Dialogue on Migration and Security. Türkiye, being an EU candidate country and an important partner for migration and security, engaged in discussions on their respective policies to prevent irregular migration. The officials also focused on common approaches to address border security concerns and combat migrant smuggling.

An important aspect of the dialogue was to explore ways to enhance cooperation between the migration and law enforcement agencies of both EU and Türkiye. While striving to meet the benchmarks under the Visa Liberalisation Dialogue, they expressed their commitment to intensify cooperation in order to achieve a successful conclusion. Additionally, they discussed the possibility of accelerating visa issuance to facilitate travel for Turkish citizens.

Not solely limited to migration matters, the EU Commissioner and the Turkish Minister also agreed to strengthen their collaborative efforts in the areas of security. They recognized the importance of countering terrorism and combating organized crime, and vowed to increase cooperation and mutual efforts in these domains. The officials further emphasized the need to enhance cooperation in law enforcement.

Both parties agreed to establish regular meetings at technical and senior official levels to review the progress of cooperation on shared interests in the fields of migration and security.