





European Union to support all member states equally on US visas elimination
During the summit, some European Union members will be invited to join the Visa Waiver program, European Foreign Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero Waldner has declared. Currently, 15 EU member states are part of the program. Romania and other EU member states which joined the Union after 2004 still push in order to be accepted in the program.
However, the biggest obstacle currently is the rejection rate in Romania, which grew to 37%, the biggest rate in the Union. The American legislation rules a 10% rejection rate in order for a country to be included in the program.
European pressures on US officials have been firmly rejected. American officials declared that visas are waived individually for each country and the European Union should not push for a bloc decision.
However, American officials accepted a dual layer talk: those issues pertaining to national problems will be discussed with the nations while EU problems, at the European level.