People who enter the EU illegally not only use the permeable Greek-Turkish border, or try their luck by crossing from the Arab Revolution countries Tunisia and Egypt, but often also abuse legal migration channels. As experience with the Balkans has shown, visa-free travel is not just used for travel to the EU, but is now also encouraging a genuine industry in asylum tourism. Germany, for example, has recorded a 700 % increase in the number of Serbian asylum-seekers.

1. If visa-free travel is also offered to Turkey, we can expect a further wave of bogus asylum-seekers. What steps are being taken on an EU‑wide basis in this context?

2. What action is being taken at EU level to prevent this kind of bogus asylum-seeker tourism in connection with visa-free travel?

3. What is the Commission’s position in relation to Turkey’s demand for ‘equal and fair treatment with other EU candidates’ in respect of visa-free travel?