Malta has come out against a Commission proposal to fast-track Turkey's bid for visa-free travel across the EU. 

In comments given prior to the EU's Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela insisted that "every third country needs to meet the necessary criteria before being granted EU visa liberalisation." 

Turkey has yet to satisfy all the necessary criteria, but the Commission has said it favours granting the country visa-free travel provided it committed itself to fulfilling the remaining criteria "as a matter of urgency". 

The Commission position was criticised by the European Parliament Conference of Presidents, which said that there could be "no shortcut" in parliamentary procedures. 

All six Maltese MEPs agree with this position. 

Dr Abela, who made it clear that Malta's position concerned all countries applying for visa liberalisation and not just Turkey, also emphasised the importance of a monitoring and suspension mechanism as part of visa liberalisation discussions. 

Asked if Turkey would agree to the suspension mechanism, the Minister replied that it would be up to the EU to agree on it. Turkey's role was to satisfy the necessary criteria, he said. 

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