Americans may soon have a lot more paperwork to do when traveling to Europe after European Parliament voted Thursday to issue a "delegated act" urging a removal of the visa waiver for American citizens in the #european union. While the "delegated act" can still be opposed by European Parliament or the Council of the European Union, the European Commission is required to follow through on removing the visa waiver for Americans.
Two-month deadline
The decision to end visa-free travel for Americans comes after the #United States failing for three years to meet the terms agreed to in the reciprocity agreement requiring visa-free travel for all included countries.
By refusing visa-free travel to five countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania), the United States has, indeed, failed to meet the agreement's requirements.
The European Commission has been given just two months to take action on the "delegated act" before legal action can be taken in the European Court of Justice. While the vote did not occur until Thursday, MEPs have pushed for the move since December - despite the original discovery happening around three years ago. Fox News called the act a "possible response to Trump," drawing connections to when "the legislature publically slammed Trump’s executive order," which called for a ban on travel from seven countries.
What happens next
While it is possible that the Trump administration could make the decision to allow visa-free travel from the additional five countries and reverse the "delegated act," it is also possible that visa-free travel to the European Union for Americans may soon come to an end. If it does, that will likely mean more paperwork and fees.
There are some reports that the EU is considering adopting a "US-style electronic travel permit scheme." Such a system would be based the US's current ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), which charges $14 to determine the user's eligibility to travel to the US. There are some concerns, however, of the challenges such a dramatic change could create after Brexit.
