Angela Merkel: Turks won’t get EU visa waiver by July 1

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday warned that it was unlikely that Turks would benefit from visa-free travel to most of the EU by a July 1 target due to disputes over a key condition of Ankara changing an anti-terror law.

“We must do everything that we can to continue to discuss as it is likely that by July 1 certain things will not be put in place, in other words the visa exemption (will not be granted) as some conditions will not have been fulfilled,” she said.

Ms Merkel also said she had told Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of her “deep concern” over a law lifting immunity for Turkish legislators that critics believe is aimed at evicting pro-Kurdish legislators from Parliament.

“Of course, the lifting of the immunity of one quarter of the deputies is a source of deep concern. I expressed this to the Turkish President and we discussed these questions very openly,” she said.

“Not all my questions have been answered, we will have to watch developments closely,” she added.