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Old visa stamp for entry into Turkey. Selected EU countries, like the UK, still need a visa to enter Turkey - a rubber-stamp process at the airport costing a few euros (Photo: sleepymyf)

Visas highlighted as irritant in EU-Turkey relations

Turkish EU affairs minister Egemen Bagis has again highlighted the EU's visa regime as a source of friction in EU-Turkey relations, but EU officials deny there is a big problem.

Speaking to a packed room of 750-or-so Turkish businessmen at a conference in Istanbul on Thursday (17 November), Bagis drew noisy applause when he said: "No other [EU accession] negotiating country is waiting in visa queues, but we are."

He referred on several occasions to "narrow-minded politicians in ce...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

Old visa stamp for entry into Turkey. Selected EU countries, like the UK, still need a visa to enter Turkey - a rubber-stamp process at the airport costing a few euros (Photo: sleepymyf)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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