Canada’s passport could take a pretty significant dive in next year’s annual ranking of the world’s most powerful.
Several outlets are reporting that Canadians and Americans travelling to Europe may soon be required to apply for visas before departure. The stand-off stems from the fact that Canada and the United States impose visa requirements for citizens of some EU-member states. The European Union, in turn, is mulling whether to retaliate by imposing similar hurdles for North American travellers crossing the Atlantic.
Canada currently imposes visa requirements on citizens of Bulgaria and Romania. The U.S. does so for citizens of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania. Europe says it expects Canada and the U.S. to allow visa-free travel for all its member states, a requirement that goes against both countries’ policies of determining visa requirements on a country-by-country basis.
“Achieving full visa waiver reciprocity for citizens of all Member States is a priority for the EU,” said a European Commission spokesperson.
After having tried for two years to get the U.S. and Canada to ensure visa-free travel for all the bloc’s citizens, Europe will decide today whether or not to move ahead with visa requirements.
Someone better remind Barack Obama to apply for his visa before travelling to Europe next week.
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