Canada yet to waive visa for new EU states

The European Commission is placing pressure on the Canadian government to allow citizens of the eight new member countries of the European Union to enter Canada without a visa, just like the other EU member countries.

The interior ministers of the 27 member states will be receiving a report by the European Commission today highlighting the Canadian reticence to allow the predominantly former eastern bloc countries the same rights of entry as those from older members such as France, Holland or Germany.

The report aims to pressure the Canadian government to resolve this issue promptly, calling on the Canucks to allow at least one new member in to the Great White North visa-free by the end of the year and clean up the issue sometime in 2008.

“Realistically, what measures can we take? We won’t be able to agree on a visa regime for Canadians or any other measure. That would be counterproductive,” said an EC representative when asked about the prospect of placing visa requirements on Canadians travelling to the EU as a countermeasure.

Some of the new EU members like Hungary and the Czech Republic feel that Canada’s draggy response to the issue is based in unfounded and unjustified fears that illegal immigration would result from letting their citizens into Canada without any visa requirements.