US signs visa-waiver deals with Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US administration on Monday signed deals with Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia paving the way for visa-free travel for their citizens despite concerns in Brussels over the bilateral agreements.
The Department of Homeland Security said the three former communist states had agreed to improvements in security with the possibility of securing visa-free travel for nationals travelling to the United States.
"I applaud Slovakia, Hungary and Lithuania for their leadership on these enhanced security measures, and I look forward to the day when their citizens can travel to the United States without a visa," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a statement.
The three countries follow in the path of Estonia, Latvia and the Czech Republic, which sparked the flurry of bilateral deals with an agreement on flight security in Washington last month.
Prague was frustrated at the slow pace of European Commission-led negotiations with the US, but the country-by-country deal-making has caused consternation in Brussels.
The European Commission has jurisdiction for visa reciprocity with third countries and traditionally negotiates on behalf of the entire EU membership.
"We are always much stronger when we act together in the name of 27 nations than when we act in a bilateral manner," a justice spokesman said last week.
Brussels is also concerned that countries concluding such agreements would surrender far more information about their citizens than allowed under EU rules, and it has threatened legal action if the states cross this line.
The deals are part of the process of joining the US visa waiver programme, but do not guarantee that the signatories will actually be able to enter.
The waiver currently applies only to 15 EU states, and citizens from Greece and 11 of the 12 newest members -- Slovenia being the exception -- are obliged to secure visas, even for a short stay, when they arrive on US soil.
"We're fortunate to have strong ties with each of these countries, and with the European Union," Chertoff said.
"As we move forward with other aspiring allies toward visa free travel, we will also continue to collaborate with the European Union, especially in areas where it has unique legal authority."
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