Europe to require visas for U.S. travelers?

I'm surprised to see that Canadians will be included along with Americans in the vote for possible visa requirements.  The US excludes 5 EU countries from the visa waiver program, Canada 2.

PortMoresby posted:

I'm surprised to see that Canadians will be included along with Americans in the vote for possible visa requirements.  The US excludes 5 EU countries from the visa waiver program, Canada 2.

Canada actually has far tougher immigration standards than the USA does.  So this doesn't surprise me.  But it will make traveling less convenient and more expensive.

I hope it's an empty threat because, if passed, it would seem to have more serious consequences for our destination countries in the EU than for travelers.  There are a number of places in Asia, for instance, that I postponed visiting for years while it was a pain to get visas.  At this stage of the game I might not bother, having seen a great deal of Europe and content to revisit my favorites in future that make it easy.

I suspect there's a large percentage of Americans who will content themselves to vacation in this hemisphere, especially the less adventuresome who may use it as yet another reason to stay away from those dangerous ferrun places.

It doesn't seem to me there's a lot of sentiment in DC, and especially Congress, for expanding waivers, so this may come to pass. If so, hopefully easy online digital visas such as Turkey uses, and not the get-in-line-at-the-consulate sort.

The European Commission delayed by three months whether to introduce visa requirements for USA and Canadian citizens by asking EU member states and the European Parliament to discuss their stance.

Even if there is new European Union's visa policy, travel to the UK and Ireland will still not require a visa for Canadians and Americans because the United Kingdom and Ireland have opted out of the European Union's visa policy.