U.S.-E.U. relations under strain over visa waiver program
U.S. refuses to allow new E.U. countries to participate citing security concerns; in response, the European Commission says it will recommend imposing visa requirements on U.S. diplomats
Relations between the United States and the European Union took another hit this week when the European Commission announced it would recommend imposing visa requirements on American diplomats. European officials are angry that the United States refuses to grant visa-free travel to citizens of Greece, Cyprus, Malta, and the seven eastern European countries that joined the E.U. in 2004. Visa waiver agreements are supposed to be reciprocal, but the United States maintains that the excluded countries fail to meet its security criteria. The E.U.’s announcement comes at the same time that officials are trying to hammer out a delayed agreement on passenger data sharing. As we reported yesterday, a deadline imposed by the European Court of Justice has passed, and although negotiations continue it appears no deal is imminent.
-read more in this AP report
