Turkey said on Wednesday that it was “disappointed” to be excluded from the list of countries whose travelers are allowed to travel to the European Union (EU) in the midst of a pandemic, calling for “remedies for this error”.
“We are disappointed not to be on the list,” Turkish diplomacy spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement. “We are waiting for this error to be repaired as soon as possible,” he added. According to this list published on Tuesday by the EU and which is not binding on member states, travelers from 15 countries, including China on condition, are allowed to go to the Schengen area. Turkey and the United States are excluded from this list, which is intended to be revised every two weeks. This decision is a blow to the image of Turkey, which has been trying for several weeks to present itself as a safe country in order to attract visitors and save what can be saved from the summer tourist season. Ankara claims to have successfully fought the pandemic of new coronavirus, with a relatively low mortality rate: according to the official balance sheet, Turkey recorded some 5,100 deaths for nearly 200,000 cases. But the daily number of new cases has gone up slightly in recent weeks due to the easing of measures last month.
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