MfD: Germany against lifting of US visas for Czechs

Germany and the Czech Republic have clashed over US visa policies, Mlada fronta Dnes reports. The paper wrote on Saturday that Germany's ambassador to the United States Klaus Scharioth wrote to US congressmen asking them to consider discussing a proposed US visa waiver programme within a United States-European Union framework and not with individual EU countries. The daily claims that in the same letter, Mr Scharioth also protested against planned tougher security measures, which many western European Union countries whose citizens currently don't need visas to the US would also have to adapt to. The German ambassador, whose country currently holds the presidency of the European Union, said his stance reflected the EU's position on the issue of US visas. The Czech Ambassador to the US Petr Kolar said that he had expressed his "frustration" to Mr Scharioth over the letter's contents. The Czech government had previously indicated it was hopeful that visas for its citizens travelling to the US will be waived in the near future.

Author: Coilin O'Connor