Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnski
To me, a retaliation is some actual shot, be it a fist, a bullet, a missile, even a some sort of sanction! No... they did the following:
Good luck with that one Czechs....
Please... this current scenario is exactly what was in place up until the current government tried to lift the restrictions in October of 2007 and found that it wasn't the right move. They have since reinstated the same visa requirements that previously existed. What is the problem with that? They tried but it failed. Give them credit for recognizing the problem that obviously bloomed.
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Don't underestimate the importance of maintaining good relations with the EU. Not to mention the fact that there is only one way to enforce a Czech visa--and that is at every port of entry to the Schengen area--that is, 22 EU countries, plus three non-member nations. This could prove to be a giant hassle for Canadian travelers.
The problem isn't imposing a visa as an issue of principle. Obviously there's nothing wrong with that in principle--we currently require visas for citizens of most nations in the world including some of the Czech republic's neighbours. The problem is handling a relatively minor situation in such a completely hamhanded way. It's the equivalent of killing an ant with a shotgun--and the result has been some collateral damage to Canada's reputation abroad and its relations with two important allied nations.