US reintroduces visas for Europeans by the back door

3.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 8th Aug 2007

The US introduction of an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system for citizens of countries (currently including 15 EU states) that are part of the Visa Waiver program will require those citizens to provide the US with personal information online at least 48 hours prior to departure, as well as pay a fee. The Visa Waiver program would be extended to several more EU countries, including Greece and the Czech Republic.

Baroness Sarah Ludford, Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson, tabled a question on the ETA to the Commission prior to the adoption of the legislation. She said:

"This new measure amounts in practice to the reintroduction of visa requirements for European countries by the back door. While EU retaliation is tempting, this would go in the opposite direction to the goal of a transatlantic free trade and travel area.

"The lack of EU solidarity has allowed the US once again to engage in 'divide and rule' tactics. Instead of all 27 sticking firmly together to demand equal treatment, some EU states undermined that effort by lobbying bilaterally for visa waiver as a 'reward' for being reliable allies over Iraq and the 'war on terror'. This exposes anyway as a sham the supposedly objective criterion of percentage of visas refused.

"As well as the inconvenience, especially for business and last-minute travellers, this new American system once again raises big worries about data protection. It requires millions of lawful European citizens to hand over personal information to the US authorities with no privacy guarantees. The European Commission and Council need to learn to play hardball instead of giving in all down the line, as on air passenger (PNR) and banking (SWIFT) data, but the only way to do that is as a united front.

"We are walking towards a surveillance nightmare - and EU ministers seem not to care. The Commission must give MEPs in September a solid evaluation of the real worth of all these data collection systems. Are they for security or immigration control purposes, how is their effectiveness measured, and where is the information going to end up?"