EUobserver.com: European Parliament criticizes US Visa Talks
European Parliament criticises US Visa Talks
MEPs have strongly criticized both Washington and the go-it-alone attitude of several member states for opening bilateral talks on tightened travel security measures in return for visa-free travel. "We express our regret at Washington's choice to enter into bilateral agreements with the recent members of the EU," Italian MEP Claudio Fava, speaking on behalf of the socialists in the European Parliament, said on Wednesday (23 April), describing the move as "completely unacceptable"."The US must respect the union's political unity. We should also remind this to member states," Mr Fava added. A similar message was echoed by conservatives, the parliament's biggest group, with Polish MEP Urszula Gacek saying that Washington "cannot exert pressure on individual nations to break EU guidelines, especially in the sensitive areas such as revealing passenger information in greater detail than the EU allows".
Note EU-Digest: The US must be made to understand in clear terms to refrain from bilateral talks with individual EU member states and the members states which are participating in such negotiations should be threatened with sanctions.
