US to ease new EU travel curbs

The US will seek to extend its visa waiver programme to all EU member states, president George Bush has said.

Speaking in Estonia on Tuesday, Bush said he would attempt to accelerate the entry of all EU countries into the scheme.

"I am pleased to announce that I am going to work with our congress and our international partners to modify our visa-waiver programme,” he told a press conference.

“It's a way to make sure that places like Estonia qualify more quickly for the programme and, at the same time, strengthen its security components."

Bush told reporters that Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves had "made it clear to me that if we're allies in Nato, people ought to be able to come to our country in a much easier fashion".

Currently ten EU member states - the ten new members apart from Slovenia and additionally Greece – must go through an application procedure that can take up to 90 days.

The European commission has heaped pressure on Washington to include all EU member states in its waiver programme.

In September the commission warned US diplomats they could face visa requirements when traveling to Europe if the scheme was not extended.

Polish diplomats have hit out at Washington’s strict requirements saying the US should recognise the support Warsaw showed in committing troops to Iraq.

The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia and Latvia also sent troops to Iraq.

Bush said the legislative process to ease visa restrictions would begin soon.

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