According to Reuters, the European Union is considering whether or not to require US and Canadian citizens to obtain a visa before traveling to the bloc. Currently, the US enjoys a visa waiver program with the majority of the European Union that is reciprocated on both sides of the Atlantic. Of course, the introduction of the more restrictive process of obtaining a formal travel Visa would hinder tourism for the European Union, something the local economy desperately needs to remain intact.
This may be driven by the fact that the United States hasn’t yet lifted visa requirements for some EU member countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland. But more likely, this is just a bit of gamesmanship on the part of the EU. The US and European Union are in ongoing negotiation regarding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and there appear to be some sticking points that the two sides can’t quite come to an agreement on – namely labor, environmental, and regulatory standards.
As Reuters adds, "trade negotiations between Brussels and Washington are at a crucial point since both sides believe their transatlantic agreement, known as TTIP, stands a better chance of passing before President Barack Obama leaves the White House in January."
The latest US Statement on the TTIP negotiations in Brussels sheds some light on why the EU may be stepping up their rhetoric:
This round comes just three weeks after the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We look forward to concluding a similarly high standard agreement with the European Union.
Two of the texts that we put forward this round were on labor and the environment. These proposals underscore our commitment to promote our high labor and environmental objectives in T-TIP.
Just as in our previous trade agreements, we propose making adherence to labor and environmental standards enforceable in T-TIP, which we believe strengthens those protections.
We believe that T-TIP also has the potential to increase transatlantic cooperation in addressing labor and environmental challenges more generally, to the benefit of all of our citizens and people around the world.
We made significant advances in the regulatory area during the round. Our goal in T-TIP – which makes it one of the most ambitious trade agreement in history – is to bridge, where possible, regulatory divergences and promote greater regulatory compatibility – all without lowering the environmental, health and safety protections that our citizens have come to expect.
At our meetings this week we advanced our discussions of regulatory cooperation and good regulatory practices with the aim of strengthening transparent rule-making on both sides of the Atlantic.
Public comment and input reinforce the democratic legitimacy of our regulatory systems without diminishing parliamentary control over those processes.
To be sure, this is merely more political posturing: when the dust settles the European Union won’t be "aggressive" enough to actually follow through on a visa threat; after all such a move would force the US to reciprocate which may impact sales of ultra luxury US real estate to billionaires who are eager to flee the worst European refugee crisis since the second World War.