- Title: EU drops US from list of COVID-safe countries for travel
- Date: 30th August 2021
- Summary: ZAVENTEM, BELGIUM (FILE - MARCH 12, 2020) (REUTERS) PEOPLE IN BRUSSELS AIRPORT DEPARTURE HALL STANDING BELOW FLIGHT SCHEDULE BOARDS VARIOUS OF BOARD SHOWING FLIGHT TO CHICAGO MADRID, SPAIN (FILE - MARCH 12, 2020) (REUTERS) MAN WEARING PROTECTIVE MASK, AMERICAN AIRLINES CHECK-IN COUNTER IN BACKGROUND PEOPLE QUEUING AT AMERICAN AIRLINES CHECK-IN COUNTER SCREEN SHOWING FLIGHTS, READING: PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES, MENORCA, MIAMI, ARGEL PEOPLE QUEUING HAND HOLDING AMERICAN PASSPORT ZAVENTEM, BELGIUM (FILE - MARCH 12, 2020) (REUTERS) PEOPLE QUEUING UP AT U.S. COMPANY DELTA AIR LINES COUNTER PEOPLE STANDING AT DELTA AIR LINES COUNTER ROISSY-EN-FRANCE, FRANCE (FILE - MARCH 16, 2020) (REUTERS) PLANES ON TARMAC VARIOUS OF DELTA PLANE TAXIING ZAVENTEM, BELGIUM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 14, 2020) (REUTERS) PLANES ON TARMAC ZAVENTEM, BELGIUM (FILE - DECEMBER 29, 2020) (REUTERS) AIRPORT ARRIVAL HALL PEOPLE WAITING IN ARRIVAL HALL ARRIVAL HALL ZAVENTEM, BELGIUM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 14, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PLANES ON TARMAC
- Embargoed: 13th September 2021 17:44
- Keywords: COVID restrictions COVID-19 EU European Union. European Commission Tourism Travel U.S. travellers coronavirus pandemic safe list
- Location: ZAVENTEM, BELGIUM / MADRID, SPAIN / ROISSY-EN-FRANCE, FRANCE / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: ZAVENTEM, BELGIUM / MADRID, SPAIN / ROISSY-EN-FRANCE, FRANCE / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: European Union,Europe,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001ESH1OP3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: European Union governments agreed on Monday (August 30) to remove the United States from the EU's safe travel list, meaning U.S. visitors and those from five other countries are likely to face tighter controls, such as COVID-19 tests and quarantines.
Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, and North Macedonia have also been taken off. The list seeks to unify travel rules across the bloc, although it does not bind individual EU nations, which are free to determine their own border policies.
Already some EU countries, such as Germany and Belgium, categorize the United States as red, requiring tests and quarantines, while for neighbors France and the Netherlands, the United States is classified as safe.
The list is largely compiled on the basis of the COVID-19 situation in each country, with reciprocity also a factor.
Average daily U.S. COVID-19 cases have risen to more than 450 per million people in the week to August 28, compared with below 40 in mid-June when the European Union added the United States to its list, figures from Our World in Data show.
Case rates for Israel, Kosovo and Montenegro are even higher, the data shows.
The EU safe list now comprises 17 countries, including Canada, Japan and New Zealand.
The bloc still lets in most non-EU visitors who are fully vaccinated, although tests and periods of quarantine can apply, depending on the EU country of arrival.
Despite EU appeals, Washington does not allow European citizens to visit freely. The bloc itself has been divided between those concerned about the lack of reciprocity and increased U.S. cases and others more reliant on tourism and reluctant to restrict U.S. travelers.
(Production: Johnny Cotton, Clement Rossignol) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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