EU Reopens Borders to 14 Countries, Leaves Americans and Other Nations Out

Strategic Insights -

The European Union has decided to lift travel restrictions for 14 countries, including Algeria, Australia, and Canada, as it attempts to breathe new life into its battered tourism industry. However, due to soaring coronavirus cases in the United States, American travelers will be excluded from the EU's borders for at least another two weeks. This decision comes as the bloc's economies struggle to recover from the pandemic, with many European countries relying heavily on tourism to drive their economies forward.

Key Takeaways:

  • The EU will reopen its borders to citizens from 14 countries, including Algeria, Australia, and Canada, as part of a targeted opening of external borders.
  • The list of allowed countries will be updated every 14 days, with new countries being added or dropped off depending on their ability to control the pandemic.
  • Non-EU citizens who are already living in Europe are not included in the ban, nor are British citizens.
  • The decision to exclude the United States was due to the country's high number of coronavirus cases over the past week, with President Donald Trump having suspended the entry of all people from Europe's ID check-free travel zone in a decree in March.
  • To qualify for the "safe" list, EU headquarters said that countries should have a comparable per capita number of COVID-19 cases to those in the 31 European countries over the last 14 days and have a stable or decreasing trend in the number of infections.
  • The EU has also taken into account countries' standards on virus testing, surveillance, contact tracing, and treatment, and the general reliability of their virus data.
  • American tourists spent $67 billion in the European Union in 2019, according to U.S. government figures, making them a significant contributor to the bloc's economy.
  • The absence of American tourists is particularly painful for small businesses and boutiques in tourist areas of Paris, with many business owners fearing for their future.
  • A trade group for the biggest U.S. carriers, including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines, expressed disappointment at the EU decision but hopes that it will be reviewed soon.

Statistics:

  • 14 countries whose citizens will be allowed to enter the EU's 27 members and four other nations in Europe's visa-free Schengen travel zone: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay.
  • EU officials fear that the absence of international travel could cost the bloc's economies billions of euros.
  • American tourists spent $67 billion in the European Union in 2019, according to U.S. government figures.
  • 27 million trips were made by American tourists to Europe in 2016.
  • 10 million Europeans head across the Atlantic each year.

Sources:

  • Associated Press, "EU to reopen borders to travelers from 14 countries, but not Americans", by Lorne Cook.
  • U.S. government figures, citing American tourists spent $67 billion in the European Union in 2019.