Türkiye took the first concrete step in the work it started between ministries in August in order to receive visa exemption from the European Union (EU). A new writing work has been carried out on the "legislation on the protection of personal data", which is one of the last six criteria to be completed for visa liberalization, and the technical negotiation stage with the EU Commission has been reached.
The work carried out within the scope of the new strategic approach announced by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz is the first concrete step taken after a long time in the Visa Liberalization Dialogue with the Union, which has come to a halt for years. In the technical discussions to be held, the regulations prepared by Türkiye to meet the criterion will be discussed.
THE EU'S EYE IS ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND LEGAL CONSISTENCY
Although this step taken by Ankara is cautiously welcomed in Brussels, EU officials emphasize that the Personal Data Protection Law is not just a technical compliance. The Union requires that the legislation in question be brought into line with European standards and, above all, applied in a proportionate and non-discriminatory manner, without restricting freedom of expression.
The regulation on personal data also directly affects other missing criteria, such as anti-terrorism legislation and operational cooperation with the European Police Organization (Europol). EU officials; He states that in cases involving law enforcement units, transparency, accountability and deficiencies in the implementation of personal data rights, as well as the independence of the Personal Data Protection Authority, are decisive in the process.
HEAVY BLOW TO PRESS FREEDOM
While Turkey is preparing for legislative changes in order to remove the obstacles to visa exemption, the developments on the domestic agenda create a picture that contradicts the principles of freedom of expression and the rule of law, which the EU emphasizes most in the process.
In the early hours of the morning, police teams raided Halk TV's headquarters in Istanbul. Following the raid, a trustee was appointed to the channel and television broadcasting was completely stopped. While employees were not allowed to enter the building, the area was closed to traffic. Halk TV Programmer Deniz Bayramoğlu announced that the meeting between Editor-in-Chief Suat Toktaş and the head of the board of trustees to continue the broadcast was inconclusive.
'THE JOB THAT DICTATORS WILL DO'
Cafer Mahiroğlu, Chairman of the Board of Halk TV, referred to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was appointed as the Chairman of the CHP with the "absolute nullity" decision of the court, and said, "Butlan leader Kılıçdaroğlu and his team can be happy. The police is on Halk TV." Kılıçdaroğlu had previously targeted Halk TV in a broadcast he attended, accusing the channel of "making fake news 24 hours a day" and announced that they had filed a complaint with RTÜK.
Reacting harshly to the raid and the trustee decision, NEW Party Chairman Özgür Özel said in his statement: "A police raid on a television channel at dawn and appointing a trustee is something only dictators can do." Özel stated that this intervention, which took place at a time when economic crisis and justice issues were on the agenda, was a clear pressure on press freedom and the will of the nation, and emphasized that they were in solidarity with Halk TV employees.
OBSTACLES TO VISA FREEDOM
In the process initiated with the EU in 2013, Türkiye met 66 of 72 criteria, but despite the passing years, no progress was made in the remaining 6 criteria. While these 6 criteria, consisting of the anti-terrorism law, GRECO recommendations, judicial cooperation, Readmission Agreement, Europol cooperation and personal data protection legislation, are expected to be completed, pressure practices in the field deepen Brussels' question marks.
Although the legal steps that Türkiye will take regarding personal data will provide progress at the technical level, in an environment where screens are darkened, trustees are appointed to media institutions and judicial processes are at the center of political debates; These deep deficiencies in the field of freedom of expression and legal guarantees remain the biggest and fundamental obstacle to the visa exemption process.
