Saamhorigheid EU op proef gesteld door aanpak Amerikaanse veiligheidseisen (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission i is stepping up pressure on those EU governments eager to sign up to a Washington-sponsored set of air security measures in exchange for visa-free travel to the US by saying "no member state will be allowed to violate EU legislation."
"We will be negotiating with the United States," EU home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini i said on Monday (10 March), adding: "It is simply not possible to abandon, to renounce our EU legislation and our common criteria."
Mr Frattini was speaking to the European Parliament i in Strasbourg, with the commission today due to adopt a mandate to negotiate all visa-related issues that fall under EU powers on behalf of the 27-nation bloc.
According to the commissioner, the mandate - which still needs to be cleared by EU interior ministers - should make it clear to the US what the EU's red lines are. "We will be not prepared to move from that even by an inch," he said.
But it is clear that several governments are reluctant to wait for Brussels to act in the area, while a clash over the precise wording of the mandate is also likely.
Estonia and Latvia have said they will sign a so-called memorandum of understanding with Washington, an agreement aimed at securing visa-free travel for their citizens to the United States, on Wednesday (12 March).
The Czech Republic already did so in February, while Slovakia says it follow suit next month.
Referring to the European Commission's proposed mandate, Slovak foreign minister Jan Kubis said that it was not "satisfactory", adding: "The mandate should not halt bilateral negotiations."
According to one US official, cited by Reuters news agency, "US law is very clear: Visa waiver is a bilateral issue, so we do intend to apply our law by continuing talks with individual countries."
MEPs divided
Mr Frattini, for his part, warned impatient EU capitals against breaking the bloc's unity over the issue.
"We should not allow ourselves be divided," Mr Frattini said, adding: "I do not question the right of EU member states to engage in bilateral negotiations on issues that are national prerogative."
But he noted that the commission believes: "what the US is asking raises serious legal and political questions."
A similar message came from some quarters in the European Parliament.
"We should not fall for the US divide and rule tactics ... and the US should act as a loyal and reliable ally and respect EU law," said Dutch liberal Sophie in't Veld i.
Ms in't Veld referred in particular to the exchange of air passenger data (PNR) between the 27-nation EU and the US.
"I don't understand why the PNR should be included [in a bilateral deal] if it is already covered by the EU-US agreement. The ink isn't even dry yet and not all the EU states have ratified, so what else is it that the US wants?"
Portuguese centre-right MEP Paolo Coelho called on the commission to use all its powers to "freeze" the bilataral talks.
However, Czech centre-right MEP Jan Zahradil pointed to the fact that the Czech-American memorandum took on board all the commission's reservations and does not breach EU law.
Zita Plestinska, a centre-right Slovak, stressed that any progress toward visa-free regime with the US is "very important for Slovak citizens," while any legal action against an individual member states on the mater "would not a be a good signal," especially during the ongoing ratification of the EU's newest treaty.