Brussels, 03/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The United States is not expected to be able to include other countries of the EU in its Visa Waiver Program (VWP) before 2011, which means that attempts on the European side to put an end to discriminations between the citizens of the Union have failed. Currently, the nationals of 23 member states are able to visit the United States without a visa, if they obtain an electronic travel permit- ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization). Only four countries - Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland and Romania - are still not included in the VWP, which means that their nationals need to apply for a visa in order to travel to American soil. The European Commission is set to publish its sixth report on visa reciprocity between the EU and third countries, including the United States, in the next few days. Since the latest report on visa reciprocity, only Greece has been added to the VWP (EUROPE 10002).
The American Congress will have to vote on new legislation before Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland and Romania may enjoy the same rights as the rest of the countries of the Union, but a change of this kind is not expected to come in before 2011 at the earliest. And even if the American legislator did change the rules, these countries would still have to be invited to join the VWP by the American administration, which does not appear to be going in this direction just yet. American law prevents the VWP from being extended to countries whose visa refusal rate applied by the US is higher than 3%. According to the 2010 statistics from the Department of State, only Cyprus would be eligible, with a rate which has increased from 1.4% to 1.7% this year. However, the American administration is reluctant to extend the VWP to this country, given existing doubts over Cyprus' capacity to control its border with the Turkish part. Poland has managed to bring its rate down from 13.5% in 2009 to 9.8% this year. This, therefore, is an important step for the country, in view of the fact that seven countries of Central and Eastern Europe were admitted to the VWP in 2008, when their rates fell below the bar of 10%. Bulgaria recorded a rate of 17.2% in 2010, compared to 17.8% in 2009, whilst Romania's rate fell from 26.3% to 24.8%. If these countries are to have a hope of joining the VWP, they will also have to fulfil other criteria, such as sharing information with the United States on lost or stolen passports and the creation of an adequate border security system.
The other subject proving contentious between Europe and the US lies in the introduction, on 8 September this year, of a tax of 14 dollars payable as part of ESTA applications by tourists visiting the United States under the VWP. The Commission and the European Parliament have spoken out against the creation of this tax, which aims mainly to promote the development of tourism in the United States (EUROPE 10298 and 10212). Under Regulation 2001/539/EC on visa reciprocity, the Commission could, in theory, propose reintroducing visa conditions for American citizens visiting the EU. At the most recent Justice and Home Affairs Council, which was held in Brussels in early October, Commissioner Cecilia Malmström repeated her criticism of this tax, which she describes as unfair. However, none of the ministers chose to take the floor. Admittedly, the position of the EU is difficult to uphold, as the Commission indicated at the beginning of 2009 that the ESTA was not the equivalent of a visa. Pending the publication by the United States of the final rule authorising this tax, the Commission is consulting the member states over the stance to take. However, the definitive response of the Commission is not expected for several weeks.
The Commission, on the other hand, has just tabled its comments on the interim final rules implemented by the United States and of which EUROPE has revealed the main elements. Given the fact that some 13 million European travellers (one quarter of all visitors to the USA) were expected to travel to the US in 2009 under the VWP, the introduction of a tax “creates an additional charge” and has a “negative impact” on the lives of the European citizens, the Commission states. The American authorities should aim to make transatlantic mobility as high as possible, it adds, suggesting that the period of validity of the ESTA should not exceed three years. The European executive believes that there is a “problem of accessibility” due to the fact that the ESTA can be paid only by a limited number of credit or debit cards (Amex, Visa, MasterCard, Discover Card) and that the use of credit cards differs from one EU member state to the next. Furthermore, people who do not hold these cards must apply for a visa, which could limit the number of VWP beneficiaries. The Commission has therefore suggested looking into other possibilities, such as payment by PayPal. As regards data protection, the European executive takes the view that clarification is needed as to whether the details of the credit cards used to purchase the ESTA will be kept and used for other purposes and, if this is the case, whether any guarantees are in place. As regards the possibility of legal recourse against the misuse of data, the Commission describes as “lamentable” the fact that no right of legal recourse has been granted to European citizens. Lastly, the Commission calls for clarification on the difference between the time periods for which information is kept under the ESTA (15 years) and under the I-94W form (75 years). (B.C./transl.fl)