Brussels, 14/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 14 July, the European Commission expressed its regret at the decision of the Canadian government to re-introduce entry visas for Czech nationals, but, at this time, said it is not considering retaliatory measures against the Ottawa government. “The Commission regrets Ottawa's decision to require visas for Czech Republic citizens, but will not automatically impose a visa requirement on Canadian citizens,” said Michele Circone, spokesman for Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Jacques Barrot. “We believe that the measures taken by Canada are temporary and we expect freedom of movement between Canada and the EU to resume very quickly,” he added. The reason behind the decision taken by the Canadian authorities is that “more and more Roma want to settle in Canada and are undertaking the journey,” he said, stating that a meeting between Czech authorities and the Commission is scheduled for today. The Canadian authorities have justified their decision to reinstate the requirement that Czech and Mexican nationals hold a visa with the need to address the explosion in asylum requests by citizens of these two countries. The measure will come into force on Wednesday 15 July. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout said that this decision was an unprecedented act against a member state of the European Union and ally in the war in Afghanistan. Since the visa requirement was lifted for Czech in October 2007, almost 3,000 asylum requests have been lodged by Czech nationals, compared with fewer than five in 2006, Ottawa says. This re-introduction of visa requirements will form part of the report on visa reciprocity between the EU and third countries to be published in September (see EUROPE 9614). (B.C./transl.rt)