Strasbourg, France (dpa) - Visa liberalization for Turkey can only be implemented if the country reforms legislation that has brought it into legal trouble with the European human rights court, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said Tuesday."The European Union has put demands on Turkey in order to grant visa liberalization for Turkish citizens, and one of the demands is they have to change terrorism legislation and practices which [are] affecting freedom of expression," Jagland said in an address to the council‘s parliamentary assembly.He added that the legislation and practices have been a long-standing concern in Europe and have prompted a number of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights issued against Turkey.The concerns, he said, pre-date a migrant deal hammered out between the European Union and Turkey but could put the deal at risk.The agreement was struck in March after more than 1 million migrants and asylum seekers reached European shores last year, many by taking boats from Turkey to Greece. Turkey agreed to take such people back, in return for aid and benefits.Since the deal was reached, migrant crossings from Turkey to Greece have dropped significantly.However, the future of the deal hinges on the EU‘s ability to grant Turkish citizens visa-free access to the bloc. The benefit is a key condition for Turkey, but Ankara is refusing to meet one of the EU‘s benchmarks, requiring a narrower definition of terrorism.The Council of Europe is a 47-nation human rights organization that is not an EU institution.
