Maltese citizens will have to wait at least until the end of this year to travel to the US without a visa.
Following the publication of a new report about the state of progress in talks between the EU and the US over the waiving of US visa requirements for citizens of the new EU member states, the European Commission admitted that no significant progress has been made. It said it planned retaliatory measures if no progress is recorded by the end of the year.
European Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot said the European Commission will propose forcing US diplomats to get visas to travel to the EU as from January unless Washington moves to grant citizens of EU states visa-free entry.
US citizens travelling to Malta or any other of the new EU member states do not require a visa.
Malta has been insisting with the US to allow visa-free travel for its citizens since its accession to the EU in 2004. The subject was also raised during a meeting between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and US President George Bush in Washington in 2006.
The final talks between the US and the EU started last April following a mandate given to the European Commission by EU Justice Ministers to negotiate the terms of the programme on their behalf.
Earlier, Malta had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the US, considered to be the first step for the island to be integrated into the US Visa Waiver Programme.
Reacting to the Commission's report yesterday, a US official in Brussels acknowledged that no country has been added to the US visa waiver programme since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
But he insisted Washington is working "aggressively" to expand the programme and he expected progress by January.
Only 15 EU countries form part of the Visa Waiver Programme and the new member states that joined in 2004 have been demanding the same treatment since then.
According to the Commission's report, progress has been achieved with other non-EU countries and Maltese citizens can now travel visa-free to Israel, Malaysia and Paraguay. Negotiations are also ongoing with Brazil, Canada, Japan and Singapore.