The member states of the European Union have agreed on a list of so-called ‘safe countries’. The list currently contains fourteen countries, whose residents are allowed to return to the Schengen area from 1 July. The US and Turkey are the major absenteeists on the list due to the relatively high number of corona infections.
The so-called safe countries are: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay. The health situation regarding coronavirus here on 15 June was comparable or better than the EU average.
China will also be added to the list if the country also decides to reopen its borders to EU citizens. The list will be reviewed every two weeks if necessary.
Different criteria are used to determine whether travel restrictions for a particular country can be lifted. For example, the number of new corona infections per 100 inhabitants has to be close to or below the EU average in recent times. This number must also be stable or decreasing. In addition, the testing and tracking policy of a country is also considered. In addition, it is considered whether this information and other available corona data is reliable.
EU Member States have yet to enact the recommendations in national law, so the target date of 1 July may not be met.
Member States were divided on the reopening of external borders
The EU’s external borders were closed on March 17 for non-essential travel. This decision was extended twice, the last time until June 30.
The EU Member States met in the past two weeks to reopen these shared borders. Negotiations ended on three occasions, because countries were divided on the criteria for the classification of ‘safe countries’. Some countries also wanted to open borders faster than others.
– .
