EU/US : NEW BILL INTRODUCED TO ADD POLAND TO VISA WAIVER PROGRAMME.

• Position: Brief article

Draft legislation has been introduced into the US Congress aimed at adding Poland to the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP), which allows citizens to travel for up to 90 days around the US without needing a visa. Poland is one of the four EU member states, the others being Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania, still not on the VWP, despite long-standing efforts by those countries and by the EU. Lawmakers in Illinois, a state with a high concentration of residents of Polish ancestry, are strong advocates of the bill. The lead sponsors in the House of Representatives are Illinois Congressmen Mike Quigley (Democrat) and Aaron Schock (Republican), and in the Senate, Mark Kirk (Republican, Illinois) and Barbara Mikulski (Democrat, Maryland). Although US President Barack Obama has said he would sign such a bill, it remains to be seen how much momentum there is behind it on Capitol Hill, where a similar bill failed to pass in 2012.

The addition of Poland...