A European Commission spokesman said on Friday that the EU’s executive body would “take note” of a European Parliament vote to temporarily re-impose visa requirements for U.S. citizens, but that it stills aims to negotiate full EU-U.S. visa reciprocity.
Thursday’s vote urged the Commission to revoke visa-free travel from the U.S. within two months following Washington’s failure to grant the same for nationals of five EU countries.
Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said the executive would try to “insist, continue and engage continue constructively” with the US in a similar manner to talks with Canada, which have proved more fruitful.
The Commission was legally bound to propose by last April that visas be reintroduced for US citizens for 12 months, but the 28-nation bloc’s member countries preferred to take no action.
US citizens can travel to all EU countries without visas, but the U.S. hasn’t granted visa-free travel to citizens of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania.
The Commission has cautioned that suspending the visa waiver for Americans would also hurt trade, tourism and the European economy.
(AP)