Says Visas Could Be Required For Americans Traveling To Europe

A Congressional proposal to charge a $10 dollar fee for some travelers arriving in the U.S. has drawn fire from the European Union, saying U.S. visitors to Europe could face retaliatory regulations.

Congress is considering a proposed fee to fund a program to promote U.S. travel, a cost that European leaders think should be the responsibility of Americans. "Only in `Alice in Wonderland' could a penalty be seen as promoting the activity on which it is imposed," the European Commission's Ambassador to Washington, John Bruton, said in a statement Friday.

The Associated Press reports that among the things the program would highlight is an online registration system that allows visitors from some European countries to visit the U.S. without a visa. The fee would be paid when the registration was completed. Bruton said EU countries would have to determine if the fee represented a de-facto visa, and would then require visas for Americans visiting those countries.

Congressman William Delahunt (D-MA), a sponsor of the bill, said the EU was far too concerned over what he called "a nominal fee."

FMI: www.house.gov