Originally Posted by
TWA884
I tend to agree with your assessment, however, I was responding to an assertion that "[t]he EU requiring visas from US citizens is long overdue."
There is a big difference between obtaining an electronic entry permit and applying for a traditional visa.
I consider the electronic entry permit to be but an electronic version of a traditional visa, with the primary difference being that the physical passport generally doesn't get into to the hands of the visa-issuing government's personnel until arrival in the visa-issuing country.