EU Commission Refuses Proposal for Parliament to Enforce Visas on US Tourists

A offer by the European Parliament to the EU Commission to impose visas as a reciprocity measure on tourists from the United States was denied by the Commission.

Last Friday, 23 October, the Commission dismissed the Parliament's idea of imposing visas on travelers carrying U.S. passports in order to compel the United States to abolish visa requirements for the residents of the four members of the European Union, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia and Romania.

The Commission called the proposal counterproductive, while a spokesperson for the Commission said that such a move "would inevitably lead the United States to impose visa requirements on all EU citizens."

It also noted that while the four EU countries had made progress in talks with the US in order to become part of the US Visa Waiver Program, none of them had ever requested the Commission to take such a measure, as suggested by the Parliament, to speed up the process.

"None of them have requested a temporary suspension of visa-free travel for US citizens by the Commission, and they all agree to continue this dialogue," said the Speaker.

At a meeting of the European Parliament on 22 October, several MEPs stressed that citizens of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania still need a visa to access the United States for tourism and business purposes, while holders of a US passport are free to fly without a visa in Europe.

A total of 376 MEPs supported the request to impose visas on US travelers, noting that the EU is two years late in taking the required steps, so that its citizens are not discriminated against in any way.

In a press release released on the same day the EU Parliament specified that EU legislation foresees that the EU Commission must within two years of receipt of the formal notification of the non-reciprocity situation, accept a legislative act enforcing the requirement to obtain visas for citizens of any third country which does not revoke the visa requirements.

While all four countries are in talks with the US to become part of its Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens of the countries covered by the Visa Waiver Program to enter the US visa-free territory, US Secretary Mike Pompeo said in early October that Croatian citizens would soon be able to travel to the US visa-free territory, following a meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Ministeovo.

Secretary Pompeo said during the meeting that he was convinced that Croatia would soon be able to satisfy the requirements for joining the Visa Waiver Program and that Croatians would be able to fly to the United States without a tourist visa or business trip.