EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO END VISA FREE VISITOR TRAVEL BY U.S. CITIZENS

March 3, 2017

The European Parliament took a vote to end visa-free travel for U.S. citizens to countries in the European Union, including France, Italy, Spain and Germany.  This is the first step in suspending the mutual visa-free reciprocity agreement between the European Union and the United States.

The European Union and the United States have had an open dispute relating to  the U.S.’s refusal to grant visa-free travel for European Union citizens of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania.

The European Parliament’s vote does not immediately revoke visa-free travel for U.S. citizens.  The is the first step in the process, and it requests action within two months to adopt measures to revoke visa-free travel for U.S. citizens. If the European Commission takes actions implementing the vote, it would mean that U.S. citizens will have to apply for visitor to the European Union before the summer travel season of 2017.

Internal procedures within the European Union could still derail the European Partliament’s vote. However, this is a new escalation in the dispute between Washington and the European Union over visa free travel for some newer member states of the European Union.

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