EU weighing increased security in visa-free zone

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The European Union is considering setting up an electronic travel authorization system to increase surveillance of overseas visitors traveling to the 27-nation bloc without a visa, after a similar security measure was approved in the United States last week. The US measure, signed into law by President George W. Bush last Friday, requires travelers from western European states and some other countries participating in the US visa waiver program to register online and fill out a questionnaire prior departure. The EU said it first considered toughening entry requirements for overseas visitors arriving without visas a year ago after a plot to blow up as many as 10 trans-Atlantic airliners was thwarted in Britain, and that the US legislation gave new impetus to the idea.