Brussels, 10/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - After several years of discussions, US Secretary of State for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced on Tuesday 9 March that, “in approximately 30 days”, Greek citizens will no longer have to have a visa to enter the United States. This results from Washington's decision to designate Greece as a member of the US Visa Waiver Programme (VWP). This means that Greece will now join the 35 countries worldwide, including 23 member states of the European Union, which are part of the VWP. Four European countries, Poland, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria, remain outside the scheme, however (see EUROPE 10049). Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou, who met US President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday, said the US decision to remove the visa requirement was a “vote of confidence” for Greece, and he stressed that the Greek government would meet its commitments and would cooperate closely at international level to combat terrorism, stating that, “As always Greece will meet its international commitments, cooperate and work in cooperation with all international organisations to tackle international terrorism”. Before including Greece in the VWP, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) determined that Greece complied with key security and information-sharing requirements, such as reporting of lost and stolen passports and the maintenance of high border control standards. Greek citizens will now be permitted to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. Like VWP travellers from other countries, Greek citizens will be required to apply for an Electronic System Travel Authorisation (ESTA) before travelling to the US. (B.C./transl.rt)