Brussels, 29/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 28 June, Greece and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding as well as a cooperation agreement for combating major crime which opens the road to Greece's entry to the American Visa Waiver Program (VWP) by the end of the year. Greece Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and US Under Secretary of State James Steinberg discussed, on Sunday on the sidelines of the OSCE meeting in Corfu, a “new era” in Greek-American relations and strengthened strategic cooperation. The meeting came to an end with the signing of the two documents - a memorandum of understanding on security and a cooperation agreement against crime, both relating to taking forward the question of waiving visa requirements for entry to the United States. “There are just a few steps left, and some administrative actions, to complete this process”, Mr Steinberg said, confirming that the visa waiver programme should be ready for Greece by the end of the year. Greece should therefore be the 23rd European Union member state to join the VWP. In addition to Greece, only Poland, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania are not yet part of the programme. (B.C./transl.jl)