Member States: European Commission

member states: In April, the Commission urged the European Parliament and council to "take a position" on the issue by July 12 — but neither did, according to The Waterloo Record. The commission notes that high-level political talks — including a visit last week by Canadian Immigration Minister John McCallum — have demonstrated progress, but they still want the issue resolved. The EU insists that since Canadians don't require visas to go to Europe, EU citizens should not need them to come to Canada. Top EU interior affairs official Dimitris Avramopoulos says the commission will continue to apply pressure. "Achieving full visa waiver reciprocity for citizens of all member states is the objective for the European Commission and a fundamental principle of our common visa policy," he said in a statement Wednesday. Officials from McCallum department travelled to Romania last month to examine progress by that country and are making a similar trip to Bulgaria this month. To decide whether to lift visa requirements, the Canadian government looks at several factors including how many visa applications are refused as well as immigration violation rates. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.