Brussels, 10/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - Official EU sources explain that the European Union has asked the United States to provide it with information about the planned amendments to the future Visa Waiver Programme (VWP). In a letter to US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on 29 June 2007, EU Commissioner Franco Frattini and German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble called for 'clarifications' to the amendments unveiled in March by the US Senate, and particularly on how the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) will work (EUROPE 9381). The ETA, based on a system in operation in Australia (see EUROPE 9462), allows the US authorities to demand from passengers, 48 hours before travel, any biographical information they believe to be useful for domestic security to decide whether a foreigner is allowed to enter the United States. A charge may be levied for the process. There will be no right of appeal if the ETA leads to rejection, and getting through the ETA does not guarantee being allowed to travel in the United States. The official said that the 'system looks like a visa in general', adding that EU member states and Europeans travelling to the United States were entitled to be 'concerned' about this additional personal information being demanded by the United States, but it would be necessary to wait until the US Congress and Senate adopted the law in identical terms before the exact repercussions were analysed. Publication of the European Commission's report on the reciprocity of visas with third countries has been postponed until September (see EUROPE 9462). (bc)