Americans are unlikely to be welcomed next week when the European Union begins to reopen its borders to international travel.
The reason: an increasing number of coronavirus cases in the United States.
On Friday night, the EU European Council agreed on a draft proposal that sets out the criteria for the new travel rules and a list of countries whose residents could enter. The United States is reportedly not on the list.
A European Union official told Fox News that the United States today “will not fit the criteria on the table” to enter Europe.
Coronavirus is still considered to be actively spreading in the United States, with several states reporting a record number of confirmed infections. Americans have been expelled from the EU since March.
“Our main concern is the health of our citizens,” European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz told Fox News. “The health criteria is probably the first and most important … in terms of which countries we chose first to lift travel restrictions.”
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Another EU official said that countries that could be excluded would have significantly higher infection rates than in Europe.
A recent daily case count per 100,000 population in Europe was 14. In the US it was 105, placing it in the same league as other affected countries, such as Russia and Brazil.
People from Russia and Brazil would also be excluded under the proposed criteria, which reports indicate that countries of origin should have COVID-19 levels that are “stable or declining.”
According to reports, the countries included in the “guest” list are Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and, perhaps most of those that bother the United States due to the pandemic that originated there, China.
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Most European countries took aggressive measures to block in order to contain the virus. Jahnz says the block does not want to “waste the effort.”
There is also the matter of reciprocity. EU residents have been blocked from entering the US since March, and there are no signs of when it will rise.
In addition to disappointing Americans who wanted to travel to Europe this summer, the ban will have a major economic impact. Airlines can lose millions of customers and billions in revenue.
“It will have a massive effect,” David Learmount of FlightGlobal told Fox News.
It could also have political implications. Relations between the United States and Europe are strained. But EU officials emphasize that decisions are made according to science, not politics.
Analyst Samuel Armstrong of the Henry Jackson Society said: “It could fuel a pattern of anti-American snubbing and nose rubbing by Brussels.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seemed hopeful when asked about the ban and said recently: “I am very confident … we will resolve it between … the United States and the EU … to develop plans and methods by which we can begin to globalize. ” travel back to your place. “
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The European Council document is technically a recommendation for countries.
The list of acceptable countries would be reviewed every two weeks. The regulations are expected to be adopted in a few days, affecting the entire block.
