"If Turkey signs the readmission agreement, we will launch the process on visa-free travel for Turks," Didier Reynders told The Anadolu Agency.
Reynders said he was set to discuss the issue with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, expressing hope that progress would be made soon on the readmission agreement.
Last June, the EU authorized the European Commission to conduct visa exemption talks with Turkey, as Turkey and the Union later initialled the readmission agreement in Brussels.
Turkey is expected to wait for an EU action plan on visa exemption which the Commission will present in a year before inking the readmission agreement which would allow expulsion of Turkish nationals who entered the EU territory illegally without any formality.
Readmission for third-country nationals will be possible following a three-year transition period which would allow for the construction of modern refugee processing centers.
The Commission is expected to present a visa exemption action plan this autumn and the implementation of the action plan is likely to come in a minimum two and a half years.
Diplomatic sources say actual visa-free travel for Turks visiting the EU could be possible within 4-6 years and it would require a majority of votes in the EU.
Turkey demands simultaneous implementation of visa-exemption and the readmission agreement.
