WASHINGTON (TVR) – Just as millions of Americans are preparing Spring Break and Summer travel plans, lawmakers at the European Union, in a spat with the United States government, voted Thursday to revoke program waiving visas for visiting U.S. citizens, which, if carried out, could lead to delays and extra costs for American travelers.
The European Parliament voted by a show of hands to urge the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, to implement the visa requirements “within two months” if the US does not relent in giving visa-free reciprocity to five European nations. The EU put the US on notice in April 2014 that by not granting visa waivers to citizens of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland, and Romania–all members of the European Union–it was in violation of visa reciprocity rules.
Currently, Canada is the only other country, besides the US, that is not in compliance with the rules and Canada plans to lift the requirements on visas in December.
The EU Commission could decline to take any action, however, despite the vote in Parliament. A Commission official stressed “it was pursuing a diplomatic resolution” and therefore making it unlikely it would lift the waiver by a May deadline set by Parliament, Reuters reported.
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More than 12 million Americans traveled to Europe in 2016, a 6.9% increase over the previous year, according to the latest figures from the National Travel and Tourism Office, which do not yet include December’s totals.
Europe is by far the preferred overseas destination for US citizens; the second-most visited overseas region last year was the Caribbean.
–>READ: News release by European Union Parliament:
The EU Commission is legally obliged to take measures temporarily reintroducing visa requirements for US citizens, given that Washington still does not grant visa-free access to nationals of five EU countries. In a resolution approved on Thursday, MEPs urge the Commission to adopt the necessary legal measures “within two months”…
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