The United States signed agreements Wednesday with EU members Latvia and Estonia that will enable the tiny Baltic nations to join the U.S. visa waiver program this year.

In Estonia, Interior Minister Juri Pihl and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff signed a memo of understanding that will enable the two nations’ law enforcement authorities to share passenger data and air travel information necessary for the visa waiver program.

“This is a critical step forward,” said Chertoff. He said Estonian tourists should be able to travel visa-free to the United States later this year.

Chertoff signed a similar deal in neighboring Latvia later Wednesday.

Since gaining independence in 1991, the two Baltic nations have lobbied intensively to travel to the U.S. without needing a tourist visa.

But the deal irks Brussels, where the European Commission is trying to negotiate a visa-waiver pact for the entire 27-nation European Union.

Chertoff played down claims that the issue had created tension within the EU and stressed that the United States was being “mindful and respectful” toward Brussels.

“We want to in every way respect our obligations to the European Union,” he said. “Our law requires to accept each country (into the visa-waiver scheme) individually. I think this is what we call a win-win situation for everybody.”

The current program allows citizens from most western European countries to enter the U.S. without visas. However, it excludes Greece, the Czech Republic, the three Baltic states and the EU’s other eastern European nations, except for Slovenia.

Later in the week, Chertoff travels to Slovenia, current holder of the rotating EU presidency, for talks with EU officials about the visa-waiver program.