Brdo, 13/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - The EU and US have decided to continue their discussions to allow the 12 member states that are not part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to finally be allowed to participate in it (EUROPE 9620). On Thursday 13 March at a press conference in Brdo Pri Kranju, the Slovenian minister of the interior, Dragutin Mate, declared: “We have found a solution for the Union and the US”. In a joint declaration the two parties indicated that the aim was to obtain a result “as soon as possible”. Commissioner Franco Frattini said that he wanted a joint political approach to be decided on at the June summit with the US in view of its practical implementation. Earlier in the day, Frattini said that he thought all member states could be included in the VWP before October 2008, but did not want to reconfirm this date during the press conference. The US has accepted the general terms of the compromise (the Twin Track) worked out on Wednesday at Coreper in Brussels, according to which, protocols for bilateral agreements with the US can still be signed under Community law, and EU-US discussions will begin on aspects relevant to the Union remit. The US secretary for homeland security, Michael Chertoff, said that visa waiver agreements will be negotiated on a state by state basis according to US rules, and each state will have to meet the required criteria. He also pointed out that some countries were closer to entering the VWP than others. According to one diplomatic source, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland risked having to wait several more years. The US and EU will share their implementation of their Electronic System of Travel Authorisation (ESTA) in more detail. These discussions will have to be concluded by next June. ESTA will apply to all EU member states and will be combined with the future European system in time to come (see other article). (B.C.)