Please find below an example of UPI's continuing coverage of homeland security and EU-US relations. I hope you find it interesting. You may link to it on the Web here:
http://www.upi.com/inc/view.php?StoryID=20060620-061157-1433r If you would like more information about UPI's Security and Terrorism service, or to stop receiving these alerts, please get in touch. Shaun Waterman UPI Homeland and National Security Editor E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: 202 898 8081 Visa row threatens to shadow Vienna summit By SHAUN WATERMAN UPI Homeland and National Security Editor WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- On the eve of their summit meeting with President George W. Bush, European Union leaders have raised the prospect of introducing visa restrictions on U.S. government officials in retaliation for Washington's failure to make progress on visa free travel for new European nations. "In the present circumstances, it is fair to say that the (EU) Commission will be under increasing pressure to announce the prospect of reciprocal measures... possibly in respect of diplomatic and service passport holders," wrote Commissioners Franco Frattini and Benita Ferror-Waldner in a June 12 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The letter is the latest development in a slowly escalating row over the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which is expected to figure high on the agenda of Wednesday's summit meeting in Vienna, Austria. Under the program, citizens of 27 U.S. allies are allowed to visit the United States for up to three months without pre-applying for a visa. The program is generally reciprocal -- U.S. citizens can travel visa free to the countries covered. But though U.S. nationals can visit any of the 25 member states of the EU without a visa, only 15 of them enjoy reciprocal privileges for the United States. Among those excluded are most of the central and east European countries that joined the EU recently, including some of the closest U.S. allies on the continent, like Poland. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., got language into the huge Senate immigration reform bill that would mandate the expansion of the program to any EU nation with troops supporting the U.S. military in Iraq or Afghanistan. The provision is aimed at Poland, where there has been bitter criticism of what is seen as a poor reward for that country's loyal support of the United States. But in Washington, the program has come under fire from those who see it as a potential loophole through which terrorists could get into the country. They point to the fact that shoe-bomber Richard Reid, who attempted to down an American Airlines jetliner was a British citizen, and to new reports that July 7 London subway suicide bomber Mohammed Khan -- another Briton -- might have visited the United States. Under pressure from security mavens in Congress -- who seem to believe that the program should shrunk rather than expanded -- the Bush administration has moved more slowly than its European allies want on the issue. Last year, frustrated at the lack of movement, the EU initiated a process under which progress in moving towards reciprocity would be reported every six months by the European Commission -- the union's executive body. In January, the commission reported for the first time, lamenting the lack of progress. The next report is due in July, and will make recommendations, which the EU's Council of Ministers will have to consider. It would be at that point that a decision would be made on sanctions against official visitors. Currently, according to the EU mission in Washington, U.S. diplomats or government officials traveling on business to most EU countries do not require a visa. That could change if the United States cannot find away to defuse the frustration among EU members states. "We really need to feel a sense of progress on this issue. Clearly that hasn't happened yet," one EU official told United Press International. The official said that any restrictions would be tightly focused -- covering only diplomatic and service passports, which would affect administration officials and members of Congress and their staffs seeking to visit Europe on official business. "Tourists and other non-official visitors would be completely unaffected," said the official, adding that the objective would be to "send a message" to the administration. For its part, the United States says it is working bilaterally with the ten EU member states not covered by the program -- and has developed roadmaps to help them meet the criteria for entry. "We are aware of the importance of the program to our allies in central Europe," said State Department Spokeswoman Angela Aggelar. "We are aware of the EU leadership's views... and we will continue to work with our allies on this important issue." The letter to Chertoff and Rice, however, complains that the roadmaps lack "transparency" and "clearly defined benchmarks" and some European diplomats say it appears as if the process is stacked against them. The U.S. position is that the issue is one of policy and legislation -- the minimum requirements a country must meet to qualify for the program are set out in law, officials say. Privately, some European officials complain that the goalposts -- which include, for example, a low rate of visa refusal -- appear to be moveable, and say that political leadership to make progress is lacking. (c) Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> See what's inside the new Yahoo! 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