Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi announced in Brussels that Belgium and Türkiye have signed a two-year police cooperation plan covering 2027-2028. The document, initialled on 20 October and confirmed to the press the following morning, commits the two countries to faster information-sharing on irregular migration routes, forged travel documents and the smuggling of people across the EU’s external borders. It also creates a dedicated working group on extradition cases linked to terrorism and organised crime, an issue Ankara has repeatedly raised in its bilateral agenda with EU partners. According to Belgian diplomatic sources, the plan will allow Belgian federal police to deploy liaison officers to Ankara and Istanbul for the first time in a decade, while Turkish migration officers will be seconded to Brussels Airport to help screen high-risk flights. Business travellers and multinational companies could benefit from more predictable vetting times for Turkish employees who need Belgian Schengen visas, because the accord includes a pilot for pre-clearance of work-permit holders. The timing is significant: Türkiye is negotiating a modernised customs-union agreement with the EU, and Belgium will hold the rotating EU Council presidency in the first half of 2027. Officials say the new policing framework is meant to demonstrate ‘constructive engagement’ ahead of those talks, while giving Belgium additional leverage to press for the return of nationals who have received final deportation orders. For global mobility managers the message is twofold. First, expect closer scrutiny of Turkish assignees whose profiles match terrorism-related watch lists; second, anticipate smoother coordination for legitimate business travel once the liaison channels are operational. Companies that frequently transfer staff between Brussels and Istanbul should review their compliance procedures now so they can benefit from the expedited tracks that the agreement promises to roll out in early 2027.
Source: Hürriyet Daily News
