Barroso calls for fairness on US visa rules

President of the European Commission Jose Manual Barroso has called on the United States to end discrimination in treatment of new member states over visa requirements.

President Barroso was speaking on 10 February, at the University of Pittsburgh, at a ceremony dedicating the university’s EU centre as a Centre of Excellence. He called on the EU and the US to work together in response to globalisation, and an essential part of this was reciprocity of visa arrangements.

“As many as 14 million jobs on both sides of the Atlantic depend on transatlantic commercial ties – meaning that not only Europe, but also the United States, has much to lose if protectionism rises and globalization’s wings are clipped,” he said.

Under the current US rules, citizens of the original 15 member states, excluding Greece, can travel to the US without a visa as long as they have machine-readable passports. Citizens of the 10 states which joined the EU in 2004 (expect Slovenia) still require a visa to enter the US. (For further info on US visa waivers see EURACTIV 26 Oct 2006.)

“I appreciate the efforts already made by the United States here,” said Mr Barroso. “But we must accelerate this and end this situation of discrimination against the new member states.” 

Read more with Euractiv

Solana tours the Middle East to promote dialogue

As the 'cartoon affair' continues to provoke demonstrations, Solana gets ready to visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Palestine in an effort to promote dialogue and mutual respect between Europe and the Islamic world.