EU and US officials agreed Thursday to continue talks aimed at securing visa-free travel for EU citizens travelling to the United States "as soon as possible." In a joint statement issued after a meeting in Brdo, Slovenia, the two sides also agreed to launch a "twin-track" approach to the issue, according to dpa. "Those matters that fall within national responsibilities will be discussed with national authorities while those that fall within EU responsibility will be discussed with EU authorities," a statement made available in Brussels said. This means the US will be able to continue to pursue bilateral deals with individual EU member states on security-related issues while holding talks with Brussels on visa-related issues. Washington has signed documents with the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia that would eventually allow their citizens to travel to the United States without obtaining visas. Such deals have infuriated the European Commission, which wants the US to allow all EU citizens to join the US visa-waiver programme. Currently there are more than a dozen EU countries - mostly Western European - in the US visa-waiver programme. And Eastern European countries, especially NATO allies, have been annoyed about not being included. In Brdo, US and EU officials also agreed that the US would share further details with the EU on its electronic system for travel authorisation (ESTA). Officials said ESTA "will be applied consistently to all EU member states" and will be coordinated with a similar system currently being finalized by Brussels. The meeting in Brdo was attended by European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini, US Attorney General Michael Mukasey, US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and government ministers from Slovenia, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU.
