The EU wants Americans to apply for visas and Arabs have comments

Americans, who currently enjoy one of the world's most powerful passports, could see that position drop significantly before summer arrives.

On Thursday, the European Parliament voted to start requiring U.S. citizens to apply for visas when visiting Europe. The European lawmakers called on the European Commission to change the visa regulation by May.

The vote is the result of an unwillingness by the U.S. to grant visa-free travel to citizens of Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus, despite the fact that these countries are part of the European Union. This goes against a reciprocal agreement between the EU and the U.S.

Although the European Commission has ignored similar motions from the European Parliament and insists that is still trying to resolve the dispute diplomatically, many have taken note of the vote.  Some see it as particularly significant in the wake of U.S. Donald Trump's attempted 'Muslim ban', which also affects EU citizens who have dual-nationality with one of the countries included in the ban.

In reality, the EU has been trying to resolve the issue since 2014, but that hasn't stopped many from relating it to recent American actions. Of course, in the Arab world, many took note as well ... and as always, there are some interesting reactions.

Many Arab citizens suffer from significant visa hassles when traveling, due to relatively weak passports and of course, Islamophobia. The Arab countries of Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Libya have some of the weakest passports in the world, and many others, such as Egypt and Lebanon, face major obstacles when applying for visas to the U.S. and Europe.

Here's what Arabs had to say.