US diplomats and military face visa prospect for EU entry

Tit-for-tat visa requirements may be imposed on Americans entering the EU if Washington fails to change its current policy. Greece and nine of the ten new Member States that joined the EU in 2004 still need a visa to visit the United States. Slovenians do not. But Washington is under mounting pressure from Brussels.

A letter was sent before this week’s EU-USA summit saying diplomatic and military personnel would be the first Americans asked to apply for a visa. So the measure is not as all-encompassing as Washington’s, which, along with Ottawa and Canberra, applies it to ordinary citizens.

The US says the countries targeted do not have sufficient security procedures. The EU is due to make known its reciprocity intentions in mid-July.

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