(BRATISLAVA) - Seven new EU countries plan to hire a lobbyist in the United States in a bid to persuade lawmakers there to eliminate visa entry requirements, Slovakia's foreign minister said Wednesday.

The seven countries, including three Baltic states and four from central Europe, will share costs for the lobbyist, Jan Kubis told journalists.

Slovakians need a visa to enter the United States, but Americans do not need one for travel to Slovakia.

The requirement has been a thorn in relations between the United States and Slovakia, and Bratislava has tried for several months to convince Washington to remove it.

Besides Slovakia, countries participating in hiring the lobbyist are Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

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