Pro-EU Civil society organizations together against the Schengen Visa crisis Impacting Turkey

There is a declaration worth looking at. Let’s see, EU officials will care about it…

In the face of an escalating Schengen Visa Crisis, representatives of Turkey based non-profits call for a united stand 

BARIŞ ALTINTAŞ

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are urging for a united front against the ongoing Schengen Visa crisis that seems to disproportionately impact Turkey. This embargo, which appears to have been informally imposed by the European Union and Schengen nations, was highlighted by T24 Editor-in-Chief Doğan Akın in June, who called on Turkey’s journalists and media establishments to stand against the apparent visa bias against Turkish citizens.

Adding to these sentiments in July, Mustafa Kuleli, Vice President of the European Journalists Federation (EFJ), expressed, “We urge the Schengen countries to put an end to the de facto visa embargo imposed on journalists. We call upon a number of diplomatic missions to rectify their prejudiced and discriminatory attitudes towards journalists from Turkey, as these biases obstruct reporters from fulfilling their professional responsibilities effectively.”

This issue is widespread, with around 906,000 Schengen visa applications originating from Turkey in 2019, and a rejection rate of 9.7%. This rate, however, rose to 15% in 2022, according to the Schengen Visa Info website. And it isn’t just journalists feeling the impact; civil society organizations are grappling with this problem as well.  To continue