Malta considering entry visas for US citizens

Malta is considering the introduction of entry visas for all United States citizens as little progress has been made in discussions between the EU and the US over the inclusion of the new member states in Washington's visa waiver programme.

Sources close to the government told The Times yesterday the issue is taking too long, and together with other EU member states Malta is contemplating counter measures.

"We have been discussing this issue for too long, even at the highest of levels. This issue was also raised by the Prime Minister when he met President George Bush last October. We think Malta has adhered to all the necessary requirements imposed by the US and so we feel the US should now change its position," the sources said.

At present, US citizens visiting Malta do not require an entry visa, however, Maltese citizens still have to pay about Lm35 and go through a series of bureaucratic procedures in order to obtain a visa permit to enter the US.

Malta, together with the other new EU member states, except Slovenia, are demanding that the US starts to include them in its visa waiver programme (VWP), granting them the same rights as the other "old" EU member states.

Greece is the only "old" member state which is still not part of the US programme. The European Commission has been exerting pressure on the US on this issue.

According to a Commission report issued a few weeks ago, the US is emphasising that the requirements for a country's acceptance into the VWP were established by its Congress as a matter of law and that countries desiring to participate in the programme must individually satisfy all of such conditions.

The US continues to maintain that the new member states, including Malta, still do not fulfil all the necessary criteria and, consequently, it is not possible to include them in the VWP in the short term.

To qualify for the VWP, a country must offer reciprocal privileges to United States citizens, have had a non-immigrant refusal rate of less than three per cent for the previous year, certify that the country issues machine-readable passports, have a programme to incorporate biometric identifiers into the passports and certify that it reports the theft of blank passports on a timely basis to the US authorities.

The new member states are now pressuring the EU to introduce counter measures in retaliation to the US position. Sources close to the Commission said the EU is evaluating the situation and will come up with a proposed strategy by September.

However, if the issue is not solved, the new member states might resort to unilateral action. The government sources said there are other new member states like Malta that are considering to "go it alone". The Czech Republic has already stated publicly it is about to introduce counter measures.