The Czech government approved a draft memorandum on lifting the visa duty from Czechs traveling to the United States, government spokeswoman Jana Bartosova said on Monday.
Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek is to sign the memorandum of understanding on Tuesday, during his business trip to the United States that starts on Monday night, the Czech news agency CTK reported.
Besides visas, Topolanek will also discuss the U.S. plan to build its missile defense radar base on Czech soil.
The United States has indicated that the visa duty might be lifted by the end of this year.
The text of the memorandum will not be legally binding but it will present a basis for possible future agreements.
Interior Minister Ivan Langer, who is to accompany Topolanek on his U.S. trip, said previously the document is advantageous for both sides because it contains the element of reciprocity.
The text of the memorandum could become a model for all other countries that want to make a similar agreement with the United States, Langer said.
The memorandum also specifies conditions for the presence of air marshals aboard planes and for the repatriation of Czech citizens, according to Langer.
Only citizens with machine readable passports will be able to travel to the United States without visas, he said.
"We are not committing ourselves to anything that would go beyond the frame of which is acceptable for the EU," Langer said.
The Czech Republic's draft memorandum has been criticized by the old EU countries that already have visa-free relations with the United States. They fear the conditions of visa-free traveling to the United States might tighten.
The Czech Interior Ministry, for instance, considers in the draft document that all Czech tourists traveling to the United States will use the special ETA system where Americans will collect biographic and other data on passengers.
Another part of the agreement concerns security standards at airports and on board planes.
"The Czech Interior Ministry intends to allow U.S. air marshals to have arms on themselves during their presence aboard the planes operated by the U.S. companies and heading to the USA, from the USA or through it," the document said.
Source: Xinhua
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