Brussels, 22/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 21 September, the European Union warned Canada of possible sanctions if Ottawa did not make any progress by the end of the year on the dossier involving visa waivers for Czech visitors. European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs Jacques Barrot said that the Canadian decision was unacceptable to both the Czech Republic and the whole of the European Union (EUROPE 9981). He called on Canada to take two urgent measures to reduce these restrictions. Firstly, he called on Canada to open an office in Prague for granting visas. Czechs who currently want to travel to Canada are obliged to go to travel agencies or the internet to obtain visas or travel to Vienna to get them more quickly. The second stage of these measures would consist of totally abolishing visas. Mr Barrot said that if no progress is made by the end of the year, he will be obliged to consult member states on imposing retaliatory measures. He also informed EUROPE that he might begin to impose visas on Canadian diplomatic passport holders. The Swedish minister for immigration, Tobias Billström, however warned that they should be careful not to make matters worse and set off a visa war. Canada abolished visas for Czech citizens in 2007 but imposed them again in July after an explosion in the number of asylum seekers. The majority of them are from the Roma minority and claim that they are victims of discrimination. (B.C./transl.rh)