Covid-19: the EU reopens its borders to 15 countries, the United States excluded

The arrival of American tourists and the financial windfall that they represent are not for now. European countries have agreed to reopen the borders of the Union and the Schengen area from this Wednesday 1 July to travelers from fifteen countries. China is part of it on condition that it admits visitors from the European Union (EU) to its soil, which is currently only the case on a limited basis. But the United States is excluded.

The criteria used

Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay were deemed safe enough to be included in this list.

Europeans favored visitors from countries whose epidemiological situation is similar to that of the EU, where the pandemic has subsided, or even improved. The rate of new Covid-19 cases must not exceed 16 per 100,000 population (EU average) over the past 14 days.

Other criteria, a tendency for stability or a decrease in new cases, as well as the measures implemented by the third country to fight against the pandemic, including the practice of tests. The adopted recommendation is not legally binding, EU countries being sovereign over the control of their borders and they can decide for example to reopen only to a part of the authorized countries.

Israel and Brazil excluded

However, the United States, the country most affected by the pandemic in the world with 125,928 deaths for nearly 2.6 million cases, is excluded from this list, which is intended to be updated every two weeks. Brazil , Russia, India, Turkey and Israel in particular.

"Non-essential" travel to Europe has been banned since mid-March, to help prevent the spread of the pandemic.

Developing the list was a daunting task, due to its economic and diplomatic implications. And Europeans were more or less eager to lift the restrictions. Very dependent on tourism, Greece began on June 15 to reopen its airports to several countries outside the EU, including China, New Zealand and South Korea.

Washington hopes for a quick fix

The situation of the pandemic in the United States therefore deprives the Old Continent of American tourists who come in numbers every year: in France, there were five million in 2019. In Italy, hit hard by the pandemic, their absence this summer is will result in a loss of 1.8 billion euros, according to the main agricultural union, Coldiretti.

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While entry into the United States has been prohibited for travelers from most European countries since March 13, US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo said he hoped for a solution "in the coming weeks" for the resumption of exchanges, believing that it was "important for the United States that Europeans can return", and vice versa.