歐盟考慮中止美國人赴歐盟免籤待遇

A long-simmering row between Brussels and Washington over visas is set to break into the open on Tuesday when the European Commission considers whether to force US citizens to apply for a visa before travelling to Europe.

週二，歐盟委員會(European Commission)將考慮是否要求美國公民在赴歐旅行前申請簽證，布魯塞爾與華盛頓之間長期以來圍繞簽證問題一直忍而不發的爭執有望公開化。

Commissioners will meet to discuss what steps, if any, to take against the US if Washington ignores Brussels’ demand for a visa waiver to apply for all EU citizens.

歐盟委員會將舉行會議，討論若華盛頓方面無視歐盟提出的、將赴美免籤待遇適用於所有歐盟公民的要求，應採取何種措施（假如有對策的話）反擊美國。

Officials involved in the negotiations — which, in various forms, have dragged on for nearly a decade — are hopeful that a full-blown diplomatic fight can be avoided at a time when relations between the EU and the US are already strained by issues of trade, tax and even China.

雙方圍繞簽證問題展開的各種形式的磋商，已持續了將近十年。參與磋商的官員們相信，在貿易、稅務乃至中國問題已然導致歐美關係緊張之際，雙方能夠避免簽證問題演變爲一場全面的外交鬥爭。

Although most EU citizens are able to travel to the US without a proper visa, Washington has stricter entry rules for visitors from some central and eastern member states.

儘管大多數歐盟公民無需適當的簽證就能赴美，但華盛頓方面已收緊了針對歐盟某些中東歐成員國公民的赴美入境規定。

People from Poland, Croatia, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania have to get a visa before travelling to the US on holiday or business. It is these countries that are pushing for Brussels to take tough steps against Washington unless it changes its ways, according to officials.

波蘭、克羅地亞、塞浦路斯、保加利亞和羅馬尼亞公民，須拿到簽證才能在赴美度假或作商務旅行。官員們稱，正是這些國家在推動歐盟對美採取嚴厲措施——除非後者改弦更張。

The EU demands that its member states “act in common” when it comes to visa policy, especially when a country “subjects citizens to differing treatment”.

歐盟要求其成員國在簽證政策方面“統一行動”，尤其是在某國“使公民們受到不同待遇”時。

In 2014, the US was given two years to offer all EU citizens the chance to benefit from its visa waiver programme, which is used by a total of 30 European countries.

2014年，歐盟給予美國兩年時間、要其向所有歐盟公民提供受益於免籤計劃的機會。該計劃目前總計適用於30個歐洲國家。

“The deadline concerns the needs for the college [of commissioners] to take stock of the situation,” said a spokesperson for the European Commission. “It will discuss the economic impact, the political impact and the impact on external relations with these countries. Then they will discuss the next possible steps.”

歐盟委員會一名發言人稱：“這一截止日期考慮了全體（委員）評估局面的需要。他們將討論相關經濟影響、政治影響和對這些國家對外關係的影響。然後，他們會討論接下來可能採取的舉措。”

National capitals and the European Parliament would have the final say on whether to suspend the visa waiver programme enjoyed by US visitors. Such a decision would not apply to Britain and Ireland, which have opt outs from the EU’s visa policy.

對於是否暫停赴歐美國公民享有的免籤計劃，各國政府和歐洲議會(European Parliament)將擁有最終發言權。這類決定將不適用於英國和愛爾蘭，這兩個國家已選擇不參與歐盟的簽證政策。

US officials, however, insist that countries such as Romania simply have not met the requirements for its visa waiver programme.

不過，美國官員們堅稱羅馬尼亞這樣的國家根本不滿足其免籤計劃的要求。

Negotiations have been complicated by new US rules dictating that all visitors who have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria have to apply for a visa — a move that also angered Brussels.

美國出臺的新規還要求，所有去過伊朗、伊拉克、蘇丹或敘利亞的人士在赴美前必須申請簽證。此舉也激怒了歐盟方面，加大了雙方磋商的難度。

The fight over visas is just one example of the increasingly tetchy transatlantic relationship. Since the start of 2016, the two have clashed on everything from the tax treatment of big US technology groups in Europe to whether China should be treated as a “market economy”.

這場簽證之爭只是表明大西洋兩岸關係日益不穩定的例子之一。2016年以來，雙方在各個方面都發生了衝突——從在歐洲的美國大型科技企業享受的稅收待遇，到是否應把中國視爲“市場經濟”國家。

These disagreements come as both sides are in the process of negotiating a sweeping free-trade deal called TTIP.

這些分歧出現之際，雙方正就名爲《跨大西洋貿易與投資夥伴關係協定》(TTIP)的全面自由貿易協議展開磋商。