(Bloomberg) -- The European Union moved closer to recommending that travelers from the U.S. shouldn’t be allowed to enter the bloc after July 1, according to a draft list being considered by officials.
Diplomats have mostly agreed on 18 countries, including Canada and South Korea, that should be allowed into the EU because the level of new Covid-19 cases meets the bloc’s criteria, according to a copy of the list seen by Bloomberg.
China is among those countries that could still gain entry, although debate is still ongoing as to whether it will ultimately make the cut. While the final lineup is still subject to change, the U.S. isn’t on the list at all.
This decision, painstakingly taken, has massive geopolitical implications since President Donald Trump could take it as a personal rebuke of his record managing the U.S’s checkered response to the pandemic. Transatlantic relations have taken a series of hits, from trade to foreign policy. European diplomats are braced for Trump to take unkindly to being kept away, while the Chinese are allowed in along with a rogue nation like Venezuela.
Officials are meeting on Friday to determine the criteria for allowing non-essential travelers back into the EU starting July 1, as the coronavirus crisis subsides on the continent and governments ease border controls. European countries are trying to revive domestic economies as the summer tourist season gets underway while guarding against a second wave of infections.
Controlling the Risks
The initial restrictions were introduced in mid-March for 30 days and extended three times through June as Europe battled to contain the pandemic.
One of the agreed criteria includes “reciprocity,” which would mean U.S. citizens wouldn’t immediately be allowed into the EU because Europeans are still barred for health reasons from traveling in the other direction.
Another metric under discussion is the rate of new Covid-19 cases. Under one proposed criterion, travelers would only be allowed from countries with a comparable or better epidemiological situation than the average in the EU.
The EU has been facing a technical test in determining which foreigners should be allowed to travel to the bloc as of July 1 because the coronavirus outbreaks are in flux in numerous countries including the U.S. Differences of opinion among the bloc’s governments over how to reopen external borders caused delays in the decision, with some countries insisting that reciprocity is more important than the number of cases.
(Updates with details throughout)
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