The European Union will renew its calls on Canada's government to drop the visa requirement for citizens of Bulgaria, Romania and the Czech Republic, making travel to Canada visa-free for all EU states.

The issue is expected to be put on the agenda of the summit between officials from the European Union and Canada, due on May 5, after it was repeatedly raised by EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and members of the European Parliament.

Canada's government dropped the visa requirement for citizens of Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary in March 2008 and vowed to continue to work in cooperation with Bulgaria and Romania, with the goal of having visa-free travel for all EU citizens.

Canadian officials said they will conduct technical visits to these countries as part of CIC's ongoing review to determine when visa requirements can be removed.

Tensions escalated after the country imposed visa requirements on travelers from Mexico and the Czech Republic in July last year after a big jump in refugee claims from these two countries.

Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary all joined the EU in May 2004, Bulgaria and Romania entered the European block at the beginning of 2007.

Canadians can travel anywhere in the 27-nation EU without a visa, and the EU would like all its 493 million people to enjoy the same privilege in Canada.

Article is provided by and used with permission from Novinite.com, Bulgaria's largest English-language news provider with real-time coverage of the most recent events and developments in Bulgaria and around the world.