Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association [MUSIAD] President Abdurrahman Kaan made a written statement on the changes of EU's visa policy.

"In this context, we can interpret it as a good development that the response of the application is reduced from 15 days to 10 days," he said, noting that these changes are a process that should be followed closely by the countries in the EU, especially those within the EU. "We consider the application of electronic applications as one of the factors facilitating the process. It is important for the visa holder to arrange visa issuance with a lot of entry and long time. This is a very positive approach in terms of reducing visa costs and frequent visa withdrawal. We can characterize visa regulations as a good development when we consider it like this," he said.

Kaan said that the regulation to increase visa fees was a considerable issue, adding that the costs of the visa application are not limited to the application fee.

Kaan continued, "The visa application costs are not limited to the application fee. However, there are many additional items. Turkish citizens paid 317m euros for Schengen visa applications in the past 7 years (2010-2016). This decision will be highly beneficial for the Turkish business community. Turkey is one of Europe's largest trading partner. Many of our citizens do business with Europe, invest in Europe and therefore have to travel frequently. On the other hand, close to 7 million Turks living in Europe are also an important factor. When this is considered, the exemption of visas will be the absolute solution for Turkiye." (ILKHA)