The EU Considers Barring American Travelers Over Coronavirus Concerns
As the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to tick upward in certain hot spots in the United States, the European Union is reportedly considering barring Americans from entering its borders, in an effort to control the spread of the pandemic.
After tense deliberations, leaders in the EU have created a list of more than a dozen countries whose residents will be allowed to travel back into the EU's borders once the lockdown lifts later this week, on July 1. The U.S. is reportedly not on that list.
According to a story published in the New York Times on June 26, this list received the support of the majority of EU ambassadors, but it "still needs to be formalized in member states’ capitals as well as in the central European Union bureaucracy before taking effect July 1."
Writer Matina Stevis-Gridneff also confirmed that while "Diplomats did not expect the list to change" ahead of the July 1 deadline, it will be reevaluated every two weeks to reflect the current situation regarding the pandemic.
On June 23, the New York Times reported the EU's barring of American travelers might be a possibility. "European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers seen by The New York Times," wrote Stevis-Gridneff at the time.
Stevis-Gridneff also reported that there were two lists of "acceptable visitors" being considered last week.
Up until this point, travelers from outside of the European Union have, for the most part, not been allowed to enter the bloc since mid-March, and it will be up to the individual countries within the EU to determine how they will adhere to these new restrictions.
"The E.U. can’t force members to adopt it, but European officials warn that failure of any of the 27 members to stick to it could lead to the reintroduction of borders within the bloc," Stevis-Gridneff wrote last week.
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