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Release Date: March 17, 2008
Secretary Chertoff: Well, we are here to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Republic of Lithuania.
Congratulations. And now we -- maybe make a few remarks.
I'd like to welcome Ambassador Brūzga from Lithuania for this signing of a memorandum of understanding, which is a major milestone in including Lithuania in our Visa Waiver Program. As you know, the President has worked for a couple of years now to get legislative changes that would allow us to make it a little bit more flexible to bring some additional countries into the Visa Waiver Program, while actually enhancing our security. And I know that Lithuania has waited for a long time to become part of this program.
So Congress, having wisely acted last year -- we're in a position today to sign a memorandum of understanding, which will enable us to take a major step forward in completing the process of including Lithuania in our Visa Waiver Program.
There is still a little more work to be done. We have some implementation to do of our electronic system of travel authorization. There are certain requirements that Lithuania will have to implement. But I think we're in a position where we can be optimistic that these can be done perhaps even this year, so that we might see the first Visa Waiver travelers from Lithuania before the end of the year. That's something I think that we would aspire to.
This is obviously not only a big step forward for convenience and efficiency for travelers, but also a big step forward for security. So it's what we would describe as a win-win.
I also want to emphasize that our entering into this memorandum of understanding is consistent with the European Union competencies. As we've told the European Union officials, to the extent there are some issues that are within the EU domain of jurisdiction, we will obviously deal with the EU on those issues. But I think in the main, the items that are the subject of this agreement fall within the national jurisdiction. And therefore I think we can go ahead and implement those over the next few months.
I look forward to working with my counterparts in Lithuania in completing this process. I want to congratulate the citizens of Lithuania on this day. And I look forward to this as a big milestone in Lithuanian-American relations.
Mr. Ambassador.
Ambassador Brūzga: Thank you, Secretary. Thank you.
Secretary Chertoff, ladies and gentlemen, we have just signed the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. -- the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior regarding the Visa Waiver Program. May I, on this occasion, extend to you, Mr. Secretary, greetings from the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, Mr. Regimantas Ciupaila, who could not be here with us today but in whose name I have the honor and the privilege of speaking and acting.
Mr. Secretary, needless to say, we Lithuanians salute the political will enshrined in this memorandum to work together to facilitate the visa-free travel between our two countries, Lithuania and the United States. We have been following the road map for quite some time now. This memorandum is perhaps the first solid proof yet that we are on the right track. We made commitments to work together to reach the desired goal, and this will require of us -- of all of us -- dedication, innovation and perseverance.
We understand very well that the travel of the citizens of our respective countries over the Atlantic has to be safe and secure. Easing of entry procedures should not pose any threat to a host country. We are determined to work out a settled security enhancement arrangements as provided in the memorandum, and to negotiate the appropriate implementation agreements.
This shall not compromise our obligations to the European Union, of which Lithuania is a proud and committed member.
We in Lithuania strongly believe in the virtues and the values of a free society. Free travel is part and parcel of it. Europe and the United States cannot be better partners on strategic issues. But it is for their peoples to enjoy the benefits and privileges of such partnership.
Last but not least, may I thank you, Mr. Secretary, and all of your dedicated staff at the Department of Homeland Security, for the good cooperation and professional approach to the Visa Waiver Program. I very much hope that the administration and Congress of the United States will continue providing their support and guidance to this very important issue on our bilateral and transatlantic agenda.
Before completing, I just have to say that we just signed the memorandum, but one thing is missing, which is a seal. So Mr. Secretary, in appreciation, a little token of appreciation just to seal this memorandum. Thank you very much.
Secretary Chertoff: Thank you very much.
Ambassador Brūzga: Thank you.
Secretary Chertoff: Thank you. Congratulations. And now I think we'll take a few questions.
Yes.
Question: Secretary Chertoff, when do you think the other three East European members of EU could sign a memorandum with the United States, namely Poland, Bulgaria and Romania?
Secretary Chertoff: I think with each country it's going to depend upon where they are in terms of the visa refusal rate, or where they are in terms of capability of dealing with the security requirements. So I don't want to make a prediction.
I will observe that in the last week we've had six countries now sign these memoranda, so I think we've certainly taken a major step in the direction of opening up the Visa Waiver Program. And we'll be happy to continue to work with other countries to help them understand and meet the requirements of the law.
Yes.
Question: Mr. Secretary, does it raise any concerns about the new wave of immigration from the Eastern Europe, under this program?
Secretary Chertoff: No, I think the essence of the way we're operating the program is designed to make it easy for people who want to come and visit, but to assure ourselves that this does not become an open door for people who want to come, either for illegal purposes or because they want to overstay their visa. And so obviously an important part of the responsibility that both countries have is to make sure that visitors truly understand their obligation to leave when the visit is over.
I think that as we've looked at the visa refusal rate, the trend has been in the right direction, so that's really why we're able to be in a position to sign the agreements we've signed so far this past week.
Question: As you know, there are critics of the Visa Waiver Program; people who feel that even with the enhancements it's a poor substitute for the visa process, which requires one-on-one interviews at home between travelers and an Embassy official, that requires travelers to fill out a 20-question form. You keep referring to this as a security enhancement. How do you feel that this is -- makes the country safer?
Secretary Chertoff: Because what it's going to do is it's going to apply this set of requirements equally across the board to all Visa Waiver countries, including existing Visa Waiver countries.
Right now the current regime has either countries in the visa program, or has countries in the Visa Waiver Program, with very little individual assessment before the person comes in. What this does is it creates an equal playing field. For countries that do have good security enhancements, that do provide us with information about people who are terrorists or people who are convicted criminals, this will now allow them access to the program.
At the same time, we're raising the security enhancements for the countries that are in the program, some of which, at this point, don't necessarily provide us with this information, and some of which have citizens that have proven to be potentially dangerous. I mean, obviously we know Moussaoui came in from France. We know Richard Reid came in from Britain.
So this is leveling the playing field, it's raising the security protections, but it's also opening up travel to our friends, all of whom I think have -- you know, all the countries that signed agreements today have as keen an appreciation about the need to protect freedom and security as we do. They've lived what it's like to be under tyranny. They prize their freedom. They prize the ability to be in a program where they're permitted to come without a very cumbersome bureaucratic process. And I'm confident they're going to work with us to continue to assure that this is a net-plus for security.
Question: Just, the information that you'll be requesting, will that include access to each country's national criminal records and also the asylum applications, and which asylum applications have been refused?
Secretary Chertoff: Well, I think we're going to deal with each country individually depending on its data. At a very general level, what we're looking for from the national -- various national agreements is: who are terrorists, who are known terrorists, who are convicted criminals? Things of that sort.
Now, we recognize that some issues like asylum do lie within European competencies, so we're certainly eager to engage, and we've talked to the EU about an agreement at the EU level on, for example, the EU asylum databases. But that's not necessarily going to be an obstacle to admitting individual countries.
Let me tell you where we're headed. It makes no sense to live in a world in which people can exploit differences in information flow, or differing levels of knowledge, in order to sneak in one country when they've been refused entry in another country, or avoid the consequences of a conviction in one country when they go to a second country.
Everybody benefits if we share information so that we all have the same picture of people who are traveling. We protect the information, but we also assure ourselves that terrorists and organized crime figures and narcotics dealers are not traveling in the seams between countries. This is about creating a kind of a seamless fabric of security which Americans and Europeans can all enjoy, and within which they can all travel freely for innocent purposes.
Question: If a person of these countries who signed this agreement today is refused to be given entry to the United States based on this electronic system, can they apply again later on, just like with the visa, when they had the visa system, or not, and in what period of time?
Secretary Chertoff: What would happen is if we were to say to somebody, based on the electronic application, that you're not admitted, we would then refer them to the embassy, and if they -- for an interview. At that point, if they wanted to pursue it further, they could go to the embassy. They might clear up the problem, or it might turn out that it's a more serious problem than that. So there will be an opportunity to pursue it further, but I think at that point, if you've been refused, we would anticipate you would have to go to the embassy.
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This page was last reviewed/modified on March 17, 2008.