(Adds signing in Latvia, quotes, background, previous TALLINN)
By Patrick Lannin
RIGA, March 12 (Reuters) - The United States signed up
Estonia and Latvia on Wednesday to bilateral deals that will
lead to visa-free travel, risking further European Union ire a
day ahead of EU-U.S. security talks.
U.S. Secretary for Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, to
meet European Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini
in Slovenia on Thursday, signed memoranda of understanding in
the Estonian capital Tallinn and in the Latvian capital Riga.
The European Commission and most old EU states say such
deals infringe on the bloc's competence on visa and border
policy, but some newer member states do not want to wait any
longer for an EU-wide deal.
Ahead of what diplomats say will be difficult EU-U.S. talks
because of the signature of these individual pacts, Chertoff
rejected the idea Washington was undermining EU powers.
"I have assured our European partners in Brussels that we
have the utmost respect for EU law and EU competences," he told
a news conference after signing the agreement in Riga.
He said the agreement, like the ones signed in Estonia and
earlier with the Czech Republic, were consistent with EU law and
that such countries would have to wait a long time for visa-free
travel if they waited for a deal at the level of the EU.
VISA WAIVER
The agreements detail areas of cooperation that will
eventually allow Estonia and Latvia to join the U.S. visa waiver
programme, allowing travel to the United States without a visa.
Most EU states have U.S. visa waivers, but not 11 of the 12
mostly ex-communist states that joined the bloc in 2004 and
2007, or older member Greece.
Frattini and the bloc's Slovenian Presidency will have a
tough job on Thursday when they will try to convince Chertoff to
give up on individual visa deals and negotiate solely at EU-U.S.
level, all the more as the EU is not united on the issue,
diplomats said.
Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins said he did not see
why his country should wait until all other EU countries had
visa-free deals prepared, especially as western European
countries already enjoyed the benefits of visa-free travel.
"We have not gone against any of our commitments to the EU,"
he added.
Countries signing bilateral pacts do not get immediate
visa-free status, but Washington will make access easier when
they fulfil a number of security criteria.
In the Latvian case this involved tight control on passport
issuance, information sharing and, if direct flights begin,
allowing armed air marshals on U.S. carriers to and from Latvia.
The Czech Republic's agreement included similar goals.
The Estonian programme included U.S. evaluation visits to
its border guard service, said Estonian Interior Minister Juri
Pihl after signing his country's memorandum with Chertoff.
Hungary is expected to sign an agreement later this month.
Frattini said on Tuesday he hoped EU-U.S. talks could move
fast enough for endorsement of a visa waiver programme for all
27 EU states at an EU-U.S. summit in June and its implementation
by the end of 2008.
The visa waiver issue will be the main topic of Thursday's
EU-U.S. justice and home affairs talks, that will also touch on
delays in the ratification of agreements on legal assistance and
extradition, and on cooperation in the Western Balkans.
(additional reporting by David Mardiste in Tallinn, Ingrid
Melander in Brussels; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
