Czech government send a disapproving letter to the American Congress

The Czech Republic and the new member states of the EU have been trying to establish the visa-free relations with the USA. From the EU states only 15 “old” member states plus Slovenia can visit the USA with visas. The Czech Republic together with other 7 states (Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia) sent a letter to the members of Congress to complain about the recent additions to the bill draft that concerns the visa requirement.

The additions say that, in order to establish the visa-free relations, the number of denied application for visas shoudn’t be higher than 10 percent out of all applications. Even though the Czech Republic may meet the stricter condition, the Czech government want to show solidarity with other states, such as Poland, Slovakia or Lithuania.

The Czech Republic and other countries mentioned above hired one of the most expensive American lobby companies, the Dutko Worldwide, to lobby for changes in the American visa policy towards European countries.