8 hours agoEU still without decision to reopen borders, Americans expected to be disfellowshipped
Periskopi(6 years ago)
(6 years ago)European Union countries failed to decide Friday on a list of safe countries whose residents can travel to this bloc from July, while the United States, Brazil and Russia are countries designated to be excluded from the list. Ambassadors from 27 EU member states [...]
European Union countries failed to decide Friday on a list of safe countries whose residents can travel to this bloc from July, while the United States, Brazil and Russia are countries designated to be excluded from the list.
Ambassadors from the 27 EU member states gathered on Friday afternoon to set criteria for allowing free quarantine from next Wednesday.
A reworked text was presented by a group of 10-20 countries, but many diplomats said they should consult their governments first. The list does not include the United States, Brazil or Russia, a diplomat said.
Member states continued discussion until late Friday hours and are expected to provide an informal response by Saturday evening.
American citizens may be allowed to enter European Union countries if they meet certain conditions as normal temperature levels, two United States officials said.
The European Commission had recommended that the bloc first remove internal border controls and then gradually open external borders. However, the first step has not gone as planned.
Greece is ordering tests for COVID-19 for people arriving from a series of EU countries, including France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, with self-issuance until the results are known.
The Czech Republic has said it will not allow tourists from Portugal, Sweden and a part of Poland to enter.
There is a broad agreement that the bloc should open only to those with a similar or better epidemic situation, but there are questions how to assess a country's treatment by the epidemic and the reliability of data.
A number of countries, such as Tanzania, Turkmenistan and Laos, have no reported cases in the last two weeks, according to the EU agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Based on ECDC data for a two-week period by Thursday, a set of countries are clearly in a worse situation than the European Union.
They include the United States, Mexico, Brazil and most of Latin America, Russia, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.
Despite pressure from American airlines and trade unions, the White House has not committed itself to establishing new travel safety measures due to the David-19 pandemic. Discussions between air companies and government officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, on Friday over control of the passenger temperature ended without agreement.
The commission has suggested that Western Balkan countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia and Serbia must be accepted.
However, according to ECDC data, the number of cases with Covid-19 in Bosnia and Northern Macedonia could be very high.
