Things I've Learned |
Everyday I read, I listen, I think. At the end of the day, I've learned something. |
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Why weren’t Greeks allowed to visit the U.S. without visas?
This is the question that brought a friend from Canada on this humble tumblr page, and it’s interesting enough to make me want to learn about it and answer it. As I wrote, some time last week,* the big news of Greek PM Papandreou’s visit to the U.S. was the announcement that Greece became a member of the US Visa Waiver program. This means that soon, once this decision gets verified by parliament, Greek citizens won’t need a visa to visit the U.S. Greece is the last one of the first 15 EU-member countries to enter the Visa Waiver program and this has led many to believe that my country was descriminated by the US.
So, after reading a livingingreece.gr post about Google Waiver program it seems that there were two problems. First was terrorism in Greece, partly solved after the capture of members of the terrorist organization 17 November back in 2002. And the second problem was the issuing of modern biometric passports that didn’t take place before September 2006. Of course another issue could be a co-operation between the two countries in counter-terrorism procedures such as access to DNA and fingerprint databases but those, are mostly kept under the table.
MEANWHILE, Australia issued a travel advice on Greece yesterday, calling for attention of Aussie citizens in Greece mainly because of violence. Apparently written by people who have known Greece only through the media. Anyway…. we will survive!
MORE:
- Secretary Napolitano Announces Greece’s Designation as a Member of the Visa Waiver Program
- Greece enters U.S. Visa Waiver program in 2010. (livingingreece.gr)
- Απ’ ευθείας πρόσβαση σε DNA και αποτυπώματα έχουν οι ΗΠΑ (Ελευθεροτυπία)
- Travel Advice for Greece (smarttraveller.gov.au)
* (I need to find a tumblr theme that includes date and time of posting, help is welcome)
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Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou walks out of the West Wing after a meeting at the White House March 9, 2010 in Washington, DC. Papandreou met with President Barack Obama.
Photographers and members of the press weren’t allowed in the meeting but I guess we will see official photos in a few hours. I understand that being together with the president of Socialist International wouldn’t be a very pleasant picture for the American conservative media.
The big news of this meeting though, is that Greece became a member of the US Visa Waiver Program. This means that Greek citizens will be allowed to travel to the US without having to go through the painful procedure of issuing a visa.
“Our efforts to guard against terrorism while enhancing legal travel and trade depend upon close collaboration with our international partners,” said Secretary Napolitano. “I commend our partners in Greece for committing to strong screening and security standards and enhanced information sharing for travel by Greek citizens to the United States as we work together to protect our citizens and strengthen our economies.”
Of course, we shouldn’t expect a rush of Greek travellers to the US, especially during those hard times but it will make travelling procedures a lot easier for those who need to travel there.
I expect many to ask the question “So, what did Greece gave back?”. Access to DNA databases, granted by the previous Greek government may be one answer, while further involvement in Afghanistan is another. Greece agreed to take over the operation of Kabul’s airport adding to today’s peaceful Greek presence in the country.
