There is a possible travel ban to be implemented soon by the European Union. Here are the possible implications of this proposal to American travelers.
The members of the European Parliament on March 2, voted to approve a resolution that demands United States citizens to have visas before traveling to any country within the European Union. At present, Americans can freely go to Europe with only a U.S. passport. The proposal could completely change that, but it is important to note on the implications of this proposal.
Several experts suggest that the action is taking place because of US rules on travel by EU citizens. At present, EU citizens can come to the US without a visa, unless they are citizens of one of these five countries namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Romania, and Cyprus. The European Parliament may possibly seek the European Commission to issue sanctions on U.S. travel until they cooperate.
The US exempted those countries because it is in their perception that these countries have not met the requirements to be enrolled in the visa waiver program. There are many factors involved including the fact that some of these countries are still relatively new to the EU.
The European Parliament resolution calls for the European Commission to immediately begin taking legal measures within two months. The deadline, however, is not finite, according to CNN. If the Commission conforms, a 2-year time will be given to removing America's visa waiver status.
Uproxx notes that we may get a preview of how the policy is being implemented, as the EU handles the time constraint issue of UK visitors entering upon the full effect of Brexit. Travel obstacles, in the long run, will hurt tourism on both sides. In this term, however, the U.S. has more to lose. 12.6 million American tourists visited Europe in 2015, out of 607.7 million tourists in Europe overall. Out of the 75 million total US visitors, only 14 million Europeans visited the U.S.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
