EU Recommends American Tourists Should Be Able To Visit Without Vaccination

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Last Updated 3 years ago

While many European Countries have already opened to vaccinated Americans, including Spain and France, few have opened to unvaccinated travelers. That could change soon, as today the 27 EU member states recommended adding the US to its white list regardless of their vaccination status.

This means both vaccinated and unvaccinated American travelers could potentially travel to Europe and go between EU member countries without having to follow strict quarantine rules.

EU Member Countries Recommend Adding US It’s Safe Travel List

Today, ambassadors from 27 European Union member countries made a recommendation that the United States and seven other countries be added to its “white list,” which means travelers from outside the bloc would be allowed to visit and travel between all member countries.

Along with the US, the other nations and territories included in the list are Albania, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macau, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Taiwan.

Travelers Allowed In EU Regardless Of Vaccination Status

An EU spokesperson told Forbes that unvaccinated travelers are the primary beneficiary when their country is added to the white list.

“When a country is added to the list, then everybody can travel — vaccinated persons and non vaccinated,” said the spokesperson, noting that each individual member country could still decide whether it would require testing or a quarantine period.

“In the end, it's for each E.U. member state to decide whether they open and when they open. So let’s say this is the list the E.U. recommends.”

Individual EU countries will have the authority to decide for themselves how they want to enforce restrictions for travelers coming into the country, including testing and vaccination requirements.

If the US gets put on the white list, the expectation is that American travelers would not have to quarantine on arrival, although a negative Covid-19 test could still be required.

Official Decision Expected To Be Made Later This Week

The US being added to the list is just a recommendation at this point, and the spokesperson said that the decision will most likely be formally adopted this Friday at a meeting of the Council of Ministers, the E.U.’s main decision-making and legislative body.

A Portuguese spokesperson also said that a decision could be formally announced by the end of the week, and then travel rules would go into effect “sometime after that.”

One consideration is that some white-listed countries are required to have a reciprocal agreement with the EU to allow a similar level of access for travelers. 

Currently, the US has a travel ban on EU travelers, which has been in place since the pandemic began. However, the Whitehouse recently announced that they have formed an expert working group who will make plans to restart international tourism, including the EU.

Criteria for being on the white list include having fewer than 75 cases of Covid-19 infections per 100,000 people over the past 14 days, having a robust vaccination rate, and monitoring for Covid-19 variants.

Currently, Canada does not meet the requirements to be put on the white list but may be considered later this summer as vaccination rates steadily increase.

Read More:

Covid-19 Travel Insurance – Everything You Need To Know

Countries Open For Vaccinated Travelers: The Complete List

EU Set To Allow Cross-Border Travel For Vaccinated Travelers

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