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US visas cause EU discord

The US sought on Monday to defuse tension with the EU over negotiations to allow member states to join a program for visa-free US travel.

After signing preliminary agreements with Hungary, Slovakia and Lithuania on Monday, US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said he will work to deal with qualms about the program raised by the European Commission.

The Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia have signed similar preliminary deals in recent weeks, and Chertoff has said that the six countries could join the US visa-waiver program by the end of the year.

The commission has said that parts of the agreements must be accepted by the EU itself. It also has argued that the EU -- rather than individual member states -- should negotiate the travel accords on behalf of the full 27-nation union.

Its failure to do so has exhausted the patience of Eastern EU countries. They have moved aggressively to negotiate with the US so that they can join most Western European countries, which already are in the visa-waiver program.

The negotiations have caused further tension within the union because the US law passed last year to expand its visa-waiver program is likely to leave out some EU nations that do not yet meet the program's security criteria. Some of those countries, such as Poland, argue that they are close US allies and should be treated the same as western European countries.

Chertoff has said US law requires agreements with individual countries to ensure they meet security standards. Last week, he agreed to deal with EU misgivings in separate negotiations while the US continues talking to countries individually.

He said the US believes that most of the issues that need to be resolved in negotiations with the countries involve individual European states.

"Where EU law requires EU ratification or agreement, we will of course continue to work with the EU authorities to achieve it," he said.

The US wants air marshals on flights and electronic travel authorization as part of the program's new rules that also could require EU nations to provide more data on passengers on trans-Atlantic flights. Such demands have upset EU officials.

EU officials say the agreement for two tracks of negotiations have alleviated some of their worries, but they will be monitoring the negotiations closely. If the member states overstep their authority, the commission could seek to have them struck down in the European Court.

The EU, which seeks equal treatment of its citizens, has to tread carefully on an emotive issue. Many of the countries that have been excluded from the US program have argued that they are being treated as second-class members of the West.

If the EU is seen as impeding deals for some of its citizens to avoid cumbersome US visa applications, while other EU citizens continue to enjoy the benefits of the US program, support for European integration could be undermined.
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