Bozinovic: Active work underway on US visa waiver for all EU states

ZAGREB, May 29 (Hina) – EU and US ministers on Thursday discussed security and judicial issues during the pandemic as well as visa reciprocity, which is being actively worked on “in this format, but also bilaterally,” Croatian Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said after a video conference.

US citizens can travel to all EU countries without visas, whereas four EU member states – Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Cyprus – still need visas to enter the US.

“We are working on that issue very actively in this format, but also bilaterally. We hope for progress when it comes to the visa waiver programme,” Bozinovic said. He presided over the EU-US virtual meeting together with Justice Minister Drazen Bosnjakovic.

The meeting was held online instead of physically in Dubrovnik as planned before the health crisis.

Ministers of the interior talked about cybercrime, terrorism, the spread of extremist propaganda, disinformation, travel restrictions, and other security challenges.

“Cross-border challenges in the current conditions, I would say, not only haven’t decreased but are even more pronounced than before in some areas,” said Bozinovic.

The dialogue with the US should continue and it is necessary to “further strengthen the transatlantic partnership to which the EU has always attached high importance,” he added.

Ministers of justice discussed contact tracking apps and urgent and extraordinary measures for ensuring the functioning of judicial systems in emergencies, quarantines and isolation.