BrusselsThe representatives of the EU countries have drawn up a preliminary list of around 18 countries, the citizens of which could soon re-enter the EU. This is reported by the AFP news agency, citing diplomatic circles. The governments of the EU countries should therefore notify until Saturday at 6 p.m. whether they agree to the selection. The list could be updated every two weeks to respond to current infection events.
The basic criterion discussed is that the number of cases in a third country for lifting the entry bans must be at least as low as in the EU. An internal Council document had given a value of 16 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants for the cut-off date of June 15 this week. This number covers infections from the previous 14 days in the EU.
AFP citing EU diplomats reports that essential criteria for the end or continuation of the restrictions from July 1 are still controversial among the member countries.
Entry ban would not apply to China
According to the main criterion on the number of new infections, entry bans would continue to apply to countries such as the USA, Brazil or Russia, but not to China. There was particular controversy over another criterion on the reliability of recording the number of cases in the respective third countries. According to diplomats, some countries doubt, for example, that the data from China reliably reflect the real corona situation in the country.
This is “one of the most problematic questions,” said a diplomat from an Eastern European country. It was not possible to lift the restrictions for countries “that provided data of dubious quality”. In the evening, however, it was said from diplomatic circles that an entry permit for citizens from China is possible if, in return, Beijing also allows citizens from the EU countries to enter.
In addition, there are fundamentally different attitudes as to whether the opening should be done carefully or as large as possible. Southern holiday countries such as Portugal and Greece wanted as much as possible to be lifted, diplomatic circles said. Others like Denmark, on the other hand, are in favor of the most restrictive line possible.
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