EU Commissioner for the abolition of visas to the United States for EU citizens

EU Commissioner for the abolition of visas to the United States for EU citizens

Presented clearly the Americans that I can not imagine a full free trade agreement with them while maintaining (in the EU - PAP) visas to the U.S.. They are aware of this - said the Commissioner in Brussels.
He informed that the issue of visas will be personally negotiated the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malstrom .

De Gucht said that the abolition of visas for citizens of EU Member States must be part of a broader agreement. In his opinion , Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ( TTIP ) could be concluded in 2015.

Two weeks ago, Deputy Economy Minister Andrzej Dycha said : - It is almost decisive . We are in consultation on this issue with our American partners - this agreement Poles will not need visas to travel to the United States. He noted that part of the free trade agreement between the EU and the U.S. to be an agreement (not formally included in the TTIP ) on the free movement of persons between the two signatories . " Visa barriers also constitute barriers to trade - pointed Dycha .

Such information had to pass 28 February at the informal Council of EU Trade Commissioner De Gucht . The week before, he was in Washington for political talks ws. trade agreement between the EU and the United States . His press service did not want to comment on the matter.

The U.S. Embassy in the information provided PAP highlighted two weeks ago that immigration law , including visa regulations , is formulated independently of trade negotiations. "President Obama supports the aspirations of the Polish ws. join the Visa Waiver Program . (...) The administration is committed to the extension of the visa waiver program , and we 're working closely with Congress " - wrote PAP Sam Goffman of the American Embassy in Warsaw.

Poland is one of the four EU countries , except Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus , are still outside the Visa Waiver Program . The entrance to the VWP give the right arrival to the U.S. without a visa for up to 90 days.

The chance for the abolition of the visa requirement for Poles appeared in June when the U.S. Senate passed a law on the reform of immigration laws. He was in it favorable to Polish notation to increase from the current 3 percent . to 10 percent. limit the refusal of the visa , which must not exceed a country applying for inclusion in the visa waiver program .

This was to enable Poland to entry into the program, so that Polish tourists , as most nationals of the European Union , could travel without visas to the United States . The problem is that this law is still not approved the House of Representatives and there is no prospect of it , that something has changed in this case the autumn elections to Congress.


However, even if the law was passed , the latest data on the number of refusals of visas for Poles would exclude us from visa-free travel . Last year, the percentage of negative decisions for Poles applying for visas increased to 10.8 percent since .