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EU Threatens "Visa War" Over Biometric Passports
The European Union might consider demanding visas of US citizens if the US Congress sticks to an October deadline for EU countries to start issuing high-tech biometric passports, European officials warned on Friday. The European Commission in Brussels said it was "concerned and disappointed" by a letter from the US Congress suggesting it was unlikely further to delay legislation that could require millions of European visitors to have visas to enter the US. The US has said only countries that have begun issuing such passports will maintain their visa-exempt status. Any EU retaliation would require the backing of a qualified majority of the bloc's member states. Similarly, the US has yet to make a final decision on altering its timetable. When the US agreed to postpone by a year an initial deadline of October 2004, it did so only at the last minute. "Sorry, dude, we were like, really busy determining what condiments to put on our cafe tables to, you know, do this high tech stuff." The row has arisen because Franco Frattini, the EU's commissioner for justice and security, had asked the US to extend the deadline to August 2006. However, James Sensenbrenner, the Republican chairman of the Congress committee on the judiciary, replied that such an extension was "unlikely" at a time of continued security fears in the US. He added: "I strongly suggest that the European Commission plan without the expectation that there will be an extension of the deadline." "This has potentially major implications in several areas," said a spokesman for Mr Frattini yesterday. "Reciprocity is a standard consideration when deciding whether or not to give visa exemption to a country." He hoped Mr Sensenbrenner's reply would not be "the final word" from the US. Note to the EU: Don't have Chirac, Zappy or Schroder come over to plead your case.... Under the new US rules, passengers with fresh passports issued after the deadline must have a biometric version - which includes a digital photograph embedded on a chip - or apply for a visa, which can take weeks. The threat of imposing visas on passengers from most of the 27 currently visa-exempt countries, which include 15 EU states, worries US business, in particular, the tourism sector. US companies and universities have also complained about tighter US border policies, with visitors sometimes facing lengthy waits even to obtain a visa interview. Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-04-01 |
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