Hungary agrees to US visa exemption, but at what price?

After the United States signed visa waiver agreements with Hungary, Slovakia, and Lithuania last week, discussions have turned to whether the levels of personal information demanded by the US government are appropriate. The foreign ministry says that the agreement respects the visa regulations of the European Union, but Brussels is worried that the US is collecting more personal data from travelers than the EU finds acceptable. Hungarian experts agree that the country might be paying too high a price for US visa exemption.

Ádám Földes, an associate of the Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) told origo.hu that it finds it unacceptable for Hungarians planning to travel to the US to have to provide nearly two dozen pieces of information including bank details and information on their religion and eating habits. He said this was the reason State President László Sólyom sent a bill on an agreement between the EU and the US on passenger data back to the Parliament for reconsideration in 2006. This agreement would have made it possible for airlines to give out personal and special data on passengers to US authorities.

Földes said that the basic principle of Hungarian data protection regulations, which says that data can be collected for defined purposes only, is in danger of being violated.

"Data protection regulations over there are much more lenient than those in the EU or Hungarian law, so a number of American authorities could be allowed access to them," Földes pointed out, adding that he is worried about the conditions Hungary is willing to agree to in order to get visa exemption.

"Security is a priority, but the data collected by the United States is more than what the EU or Hungary finds necessary," said security policy expert György Nógrádi. However, he believes Hungary will offer whatever it takes to secure visa exemption as it has no other choice.

According to piacesprofit.hu, the visa waiver agreement signed on Monday is an important step towards visa exemption, but there are a number of conditions Hungary has to meet before its citizens can travel to the US visa-free. One of these is for the rate of rejected visa applications to fall below 10%.

The portal also points out that simplified procedures will apply to tourists only. In the future, visa applicants will be able to submit their data to the consulate online and will receive their Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) the same way. They will not have to visit the US embassy in Budapest in person for an interview and will not have to submit papers, such as birth certificate and bank account report as currently required.

Even though the waiver process is streamlined, and demands Hungarians reveal much personal information, it doesn't guarentee them a quick entry. Upon arriving in the US, Hungarian tourists will still be questioned by Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) employees, have their fingerprints taken and may be turned back without explanation.

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