Commission attacks US visa-waiver proposals

The European Commission has criticised attempts by the US government to make bilateral agreements with individual EU member states over security.

The US last week gave draft ‘memoranda of understanding’ to some member states wanting to be included in its visa-waiver programme. The memoranda set out new security requirements for joining the scheme and include requirements on the sharing of airline passenger data, as well as permitting sky marshals on planes. The memoranda were discussed by US Department of Homeland Security officials on visits to Greece, the Czech Republic and Estonia.

The Commission accused the US of violating its exclusive right to negotiate on behalf of all EU countries on visa policy, and on other types of co-operation covered by the text. A spokesperson for Franco Frattini, the European commissioner for justice, freedom and security, said the move "undermines the EU’s standing and position on these issues".

Jonathan Faull, the Commission’s director-general for justice and home affairs, highlighted provisions on the collection of airline passenger name records (PNR), the exchange of data on lost and stolen passports, and the re-admission of expelled nationals as falling under its competence. Member states which do not respect this could, in theory, be taken to the European Court of Justice by the Commission.

A US government official told European Voice that US law "clearly characterises the visa-waiver as a bilateral programme", and that the US and the Commission had "a professional agreement to disagree". The intention is that both current members of the programme and those aspiring to join the scheme should sign the memoranda. Currently 12 member states remain outside the scheme.

One demand mooted by the Americans is that countries should agree to supply PNR data for passengers on all flights which cross its airspace. Faull said that this was unacceptable, on the grounds that it went beyond an EU-US agreement on PNR concluded in June 2007.

EU member state ambassadors will be discussing today (14 February) whether to organise a common response to the memoranda. The issue is also expected to be discussed at a high-level EU-US meeting in Ljubljana on 13 March.

The disagreement comes at the same time as the Commission is pushing ahead with its own plans for border control. On 13 February, it presented detailed proposals for the creation an EU entry/exit system, which would see the collection of data on all third-country nationals planning to visit the EU for a short stay (up to three months), so that alerts could be sent out to security authorities if they overstay illegally. The Commission believes the system could be place as early as 2015. It would be accompanied by a registered travellers programme for people who are trusted not to overstay.

The European Commission has criticised attempts by the US government to make bilateral agreements with individual EU member states over security.

Wikipedia: Visa Waiver Program http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Waiver_Program

United States: Department of Homeland Security http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm

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