TRAVEL NEWS
Thursday, July 24, 2008
EU warns US of visa retaliation
The European Commission has warned it may force US diplomats to apply for visas to travel within the European Union from next year
The commission's move is in retaliation for the US' failure to broaden visa-free travel to all EU member states.
Currently, 12 EU member states require a visa when travelling to the US and the commission said "no tangible progress" had been made to change this.
Most older EU states are already part of a visa-waiver programme.
"The commission will propose retaliatory measures eg temporary restoration of the visa requirement for US nationals holding diplomatic and service/official passports as from 1 January 2009 if no progress is achieved," the commission said in a statement.
Citizens of 11 of the 12 mostly ex-communist countries which joined the 27-member bloc in 2004 and 2007, as well as Greece, have to apply for visas before they are allowed to enter the US.
"It is unacceptable that nationals from some third countries can benefit from visa-free travel to the EU whilst some of our fellow EU citizens cannot travel visa-free to those countries," the EU's Justice and Security Commissioner Jacques Barrot said in a statement.
The US says that its policy has been to treat each country on a case-by-case basis and to lift or impose visa requirements according to security issues.
The lack of progress in talks on the matter between the EU and the US has led some countries - including Latvia and Estonia - to negotiate their own bilateral deals directly with Washington.
Source: news.bbc.co.uk
The commission's move is in retaliation for the US' failure to broaden visa-free travel to all EU member states.
Currently, 12 EU member states require a visa when travelling to the US and the commission said "no tangible progress" had been made to change this.
Most older EU states are already part of a visa-waiver programme.
"The commission will propose retaliatory measures eg temporary restoration of the visa requirement for US nationals holding diplomatic and service/official passports as from 1 January 2009 if no progress is achieved," the commission said in a statement.
Citizens of 11 of the 12 mostly ex-communist countries which joined the 27-member bloc in 2004 and 2007, as well as Greece, have to apply for visas before they are allowed to enter the US.
"It is unacceptable that nationals from some third countries can benefit from visa-free travel to the EU whilst some of our fellow EU citizens cannot travel visa-free to those countries," the EU's Justice and Security Commissioner Jacques Barrot said in a statement.
The US says that its policy has been to treat each country on a case-by-case basis and to lift or impose visa requirements according to security issues.
The lack of progress in talks on the matter between the EU and the US has led some countries - including Latvia and Estonia - to negotiate their own bilateral deals directly with Washington.
Source: news.bbc.co.uk
Labels: European Union, USA, visa
Friday, March 14, 2008
EU, US for talks over visa-free travel
The EU expects tough talks with the US on visa-free travel, after Washington signed separate deals with some EU members instead of the bloc as a whole.
rte.ie
rte.ie
Labels: European Union, USA, visa
Saturday, December 22, 2007
EU expands border-free travel zone along what was once Iron Curtain
Border controls along the old Iron Curtain from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic cease to exist from midnight Thursday as most of the European Union's former communist new members join the EU's passport-free travel zone.
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
Labels: borderless travel zone, European Union, schengen
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Chinese tourists flock to Paris under travel pact
France is reaping a fat reward by tapping into the potentially massive Chinese tourism market under a special access provision extended to the European Union...
canada.com
canada.com
Labels: China, European Union, France
Monday, October 15, 2007
Hundreds of airline websites may break EU law
Hundreds of websites selling air tickets could be breaking the law by adding extra charges to advertised prices, a coordinated investigation by EU countries has found.
theage.com.au
theage.com.au
Labels: airline tickets, European Union, websites
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
EU threatens visa restrictions against Canadians travelling to Europe
The European Union's top justice official Tuesday threatened to slap visa restrictions on Canadians travelling to the 27-member bloc if Ottawa did not keep its promise to lift visa requirements on new EU member states.
canadianpress.google.com (page not found)
canadianpress.google.com (page not found)
Labels: canadians, European Union, visa
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
9 EU nations on course to joining borderless travel zone
Nine new European Union members are still on course to join the bloc's borderless travel zone at the end of the year, despite individual problems the countries had to solve in aligning their border and customs security standards with zone members.
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
Labels: borderless travel zone, European Union, members
Monday, March 12, 2007
Speed limit suggested for German autobahns
The European Union's environment commissioner has called for a uniform speed limit on German autobahns to slow down the notoriously fast traffic on the country's highways.
theage.com.au
theage.com.au
Labels: autobahn, European Union, speed limit
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