Europe is moving to increase the hassles to American tourists because of the generally aggressive nasty way foreign visitors to the US are treated including requiring visa waivers instead of admitting tourists from certain countries without as Europe now does for US citizens.
Wherever this line of thought came from, is way off base (to put it politely). No one is trying to "hassle" Americans, it is not in retaliation for what the US is doing to Europeans, Americans are not being singled out. When EITAS goes into effect, it will apply to all 61 countries that the Schengen area has Visa Waiver agreements with.
EITAS is not a visa or "visa waiver" it is simply a system to collect much of the same information that they asked at entry today, but do it ahead of time, and possibly verify. It will be quick and easy, answer some questions, pay a small fee, you get a response quickly, your good for a couple years or so.
The delays have been tied, in part, to the launch of the EES (Entry/Exit System) to be used Schengen wide. With that, you will simply scan your passport, probably smile at a camera, it will compare it with your EITAS information, and you are in. No talking to an officer, no stamps, your entry and exit is recorded. Obviously, getting something implemented across 29 independent countries, some EU, some not, is not easy.
