EU Commission to pressure US to abolish visa restrictions on EU citizens

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Deutsche Welle : EU Threatens Action Over US Visa Requirements

DW said:
It is a common complaint: 'I just want to see the US and they won't give me a visa,' goes one version often heard in Poland or the Czech Republic. Another, more bitter, lament is over the long waiting times, and high cost, of applying for a tourist visa that is unlikely to be issued.

And since 10 new countries joined the EU in 2004, the argument has gotten louder -- as US borders have gotten tighter.

But now, the European Commission is threatening to take action against the US if Washington fails to prove that it is trying to abolish visa restrictions on some member states, an EU official said this week.
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Currently, travellers from the nine of the 10 newest European Union states -- Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, with the exception of Slovenia -- still have to apply for visas when they travel to the United States, even for a short stay. Of the older member states, people from Greece also need a visa.
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The EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that another option might be to oblige all US citizens -- not just diplomats and troops -- to obtain visas.
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I think it is fair game. If the US impose visas on 9 EU member states, then the EU should counter-attack by imposing visas on US citizens visiting the EU (or maybe just those of 18 random US states, just to keep the balance :) ). After all, there is no passport check between most EU countrie, so even if isolated member states required visas for US citizens, these latter could just enter via another EU country for which they don't need a visa without ever being checked ! For instance, if Greece decides to impose visas for US citizens, Americans could de facto enter without visa by landing in Italy the taking a ferry to Greece (as there is no passport check).
 

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