Lithuania takes next step on U.S. visa waiver path

Mar 18, 2008
By Mike Collier

WASHINGTON -- On 17 March, Lithuanian Ambassador to the U.S.A. Audrius Brūzga and the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the implementation of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program requirements and related enhanced security measures.

"In Lithuania we honestly believe in the values of a free society and its advantages. A possibility to freely travel is an important precondition of such a society. It would be difficult to find better partners in strategic cooperation issues than Europe and the United States of America, therefore, our people should take advantage of every benefit of such a partnership," said Ambassador Brūzga after the signing ceremony.

The Memorandum of Understanding is a document of political intentions, describing the determination of both parties to start a close cooperation, so that Lithuania could join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program as quickly as possible.

The U.S.'s practise of negotiating directly with individual EU member states has raised hackles in Brussels, where officials had been hoping to present a united front in order to secure a pan-European visa scheme. However, all three Baltic states have entered into unilateral arrangements already, at various stages of progress.

This Memorandum is not an agreement announcing the introduction of a visa-free regime. The signing of the Memorandum is only the first step. A concrete date of the actual visa requirement lifting is not mentioned.

In April a delegation of experts of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security intend to visit Vilnius. During this visit, it is intended to agree on the ways and terms of implementation of concrete principles that are set out in the Memorandum, seeking to introduce a visa-free regime with the U.S.A.

Slovakia and Hungary signed Memorandums together with Lithuania. The Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia have signed the Memorandum already.