Brussels, 18/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - US citizens could one day have to get an electronic visa before travelling to Europe. The EU could consider such a mechanism, given the Bush administration's wish to introduce the “Electronic Travel Authority” (ETA), based on the Australian model, which would allow US authorities to require passengers to provide, 48 hours before embarkation, any personal information deemed useful to Homeland Security, and to decide if a foreigner should be permitted to travel to the US (see EUROPE 9465). European Internal Security Commissioner Franco Frattini informed his US counterpart Michael Chertoff of Europe's intention by letter, dated 29 June. Telmo Baltazar, the justice and home affairs adviser at the European Commission Delegation in Washington, confirmed what Mr Frattini said: “We may consider the introduction of a similar reciprocal system on the EU level”. “Close cooperation and consultation with the US would therefore be useful,” he added, according to the Washington Times. Under the American plans, those travellers who sent the information by ETA would be given either a “green light” if they were accepted, or a “yellow light” which would mean they would have to go to the Consulate. “That's exactly the thing we should be discussing,” said Mr Baltazar, indicating that the Europeans wanted to know how the system would decide the level of security to give each passenger. In this context, a representative of the US security department, Daniel Sullivan is expected this week in Brussels, to speak to representatives of the DG Justice, Freedom and Security of the European Commission. The European decision on whether to push on with the introduction of such a system will depend largely on what happens in the US. The law on the Visa Waiver Programme, which governs the provisions of the future ETA, is due to be debated in Congress in the coming weeks. “Our attitude will depend on what the law contains, and also on our ability to put in place a similar system,” a European source told EUROPE. At the start of the week during the visit of Polish President Lech Kaczynski to Washington, the US president called on Congress to approve this law swiftly to put an end to the inequalities of the Visa Waiver Program (see EUROPE 9465). (bc)