Slovakia welcomes the U.S. law that sets new conditions for the visa waiver program. "We absolutely cannot speak of failure or that we are disappointed in anything," said Slovak Foreign Ministry State Secretary Diana Strofova in Bratislava on Monday. She interprets the fact that the law won large support in both houses of U.S. Congress as a clear gesture of the fact that the United States finds it in its own interest to make travel equal for all European Union citizens. The law will require the United States to adopt a number of measures, such as a control system for departing foreigners, to monitor how many people unlawfully extend their stay in the country. Slovakia, as well as other countries, in cooperation with the United States, has to start a system of information exchange. Slovakia already meets many requirements, as they overlap with Schengen requirements. Ms. Strofova believes that by the time the aforementioned law comes into effect in the United States, Slovakia can meet the criterion of the ten percent cap on rejected visa applications. According to Ms. Strofova, inclusion of Slovakia in the visa waiver program can be expected within three years.
Also on Monday, EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini, in Budapest, at a joint news conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, said that the European Union can no longer tolerate discrimination against citizens from some member states when it comes to U.S. visa regulations. Franco Frattini told reporters in Budapest that he had spoken with U.S. officials about a proposal for a standardized visa waiver program that would apply to all EU citizens. U.S. Congress "is working toward a new law eliminating differences and discrimination between member states of Europe," Mr. Frattini said, adding that it could be adopted once U.S. lawmakers reconvene after the summer break.
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