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New U.S. visa requirements divide EU

Czechs preliminarily agree to conditions despite debate

February 20th, 2008 issue

By Ondřej Bouda

Staff writer
As the United States prepares to drop visa requirements for Czech citizens starting this fall, the reaction from Brussels has been decidedly negative.
After years of seeking visa-free relations with the United States, the Czech government is now agreeing to meet new conditions required for membership in the Visa Waiver Program. Such criteria include implementing the Electronic Travel Authorization system (ETA), placing armed U.S. air marshals on all flights to the States and providing personal data for family members of travelers. Other EU countries consider these conditions — which would effect both new and existing Visa Waiver Program members — too severe and are unwilling to adopt them. EU officials worry that the Czech Republic’s acceptance of such criteria could weaken the EU’s unified resistance to them.
Accordingly, the EU has criticized bilateral Czech-U.S. visa waiver discussions, such as the recent Prague meeting between U.S. Homeland Security Department representative Richard C. Barth and Czech officials. Brussels is instead urging multilateral talks to take place, but the Czech Republic is less enthusiastic about such proceedings.
“We have waited several years and nothing has happened,” said Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra on the political news program Otázky Václava Moravce last weekend. “We have decided to take matters into our own hands because our citizens deserve the same treatment as other EU citizens.”
Among the EU’s fears are concerns that the U.S. government is trying to woo rogue EU states in order to weaken the resistance of other countries when it comes to negotiations on the ETA requirement in particular. Travelers would be required to use this new online tool before their trip to submit personal information and receive approval or denial of their entry request. For many countries currently in the Visa Waiver Program, the system would mean a tightening of security measures for travelers.
Vondra has dismissed all EU objections, saying a preliminary agreement with Washington does not mean the Czech government will agree to all conditions.
The Czech Republic is fielding criticism from inside its borders as well. Objectors within the government worry that membership in the waiver program, including stricter pre-flight controls, will bring no respite for Czech citizens.
“Right now we are agreeing to hand over information on an unprecedented scale,” Lubomír Zaorálek of the Social Democratic Party said on Otázky Václava Moravce. “There will still be some officer somewhere that can decide arbitrarily whom to admit and whom to keep out.”
He also worried that, “there are no guarantees about safeguarding the provided information, how it will be dealt with and when it will be disposed of.” There are also fears that the whole program with extra security measures will be much more expensive than the current arrangement.
On the same program, Czech Member of European Parliament Miloslav Ransdorf expressed concerns about the country being used as a bargaining chip. “The United States is trying to undermine European unity,” he said. “We should not be the destructive tool of the U.S., especially when we are preparing for EU presidency.”
Vondra, however, seemed less interested in EU solidarity. “All countries will have to individually agree to the ETA and other new conditions if they wish to remain in the Visa Waiver Program,” he said. “We want to move quickly as we have already adopted many of the requirements, such as biometric passports, which some countries still lack and do not wish to pay the expenses to adopt.”
If, as Vondra has publicly stated, the Czech government wants only to put pressure on Brussels in order to start things moving, then it has succeeded. Franco Frattini, an EU commissioner, told Lidovky.cz, “We expect reciprocity for our citizens. We have been patient for a long time but our patience cannot be indefinite.” He is preparing a package similar to the American ETA, wherein all travelers from the United States would have to complete an electronic form and ask for permission to travel to Europe.
During talks in Brussels, Vondra promised to coordinate future steps with the EU as much as possible. However, he went on to say that Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek will go ahead and sign the controversial memorandum of understanding required for the waiver program later this month.
Ondřej Bouda can be reached at obouda@praguepost.com


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