Brussels, 16/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - Canada is quite clearly not ready to end non-reciprocity on visa exemptions with eight EU countries. Negotiations between the European Commission and the Canadian government have, in fact, stalled. “We are still more or less where we were four years ago, at the start of talks. I, personally, have been involved in the process for over four years and I have to say there has been no real progress,” Lithuanian Ambassadress to Ottawa Sigute Jakstonyte said recently, as reported in La Presse on Friday. While, in theory, Canada should not require EU nationals to have visa to enter the country, the government continues to require visas for the nationals of eight countries - the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Romania. The need for Hungarians to have a visa was lifted in 2005, and for Estonians in September 2006. In October 2006, the European Commission published a report in which it accused Canada, and also Australia and the United States, of not instituting reciprocal conditions on visa exemptions (see EUOPE 9279). There were even threats from the Commission of sanctions in the form of the re-establishment of the requirement for diplomats and other official passport holders to obtain a visa. This threat “was indeed sent to Canadian authorities,” a highly placed official with the European Union delegation to Ottawa, quoted in La Presse, said on 15 March. In Brussels, the Commission remains cautious: “Yes, we have threatened Canada and the United States with retaliation. Member states are pushing for this, but for the moment nothing has been decided,” Friso Roscam-Abbing, spokesman for the Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner, told EUROPE. Officially, the Canadian government has told the EU that it would lift the visa requirement for nationals of the states mentioned above as soon as these same states meet the criteria set by Canada for visa dispensation. Further negotiations are to be held and 4 June 2007 is the date decided for the resolution of this problem. On that day, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is due to meet European Commission President José Manuel Barroso at the EU-Canada Summit in Berlin. Since the start of negotiations on this issue, Canadian authorities have maintained that their visa policy has nothing to do with reciprocity, and that visas are not granted because of membership of political or military organisations, such as the EU or NATO, but rather on the need to protect the health of Canadians and to manage access to the country. There are similar problems between the EU and the United States (see EUROPE 9381) and also Australia. The Commission, which had intended to present a new report on visa reciprocity by 31 March, has said it will not be able to meet this deadline. (bc)