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Leaders of the European Union say external borders should remain closed for at least two more weeks for U.S travelers.
The list of countries allowed to travel to the EU will remain as it is with 15 allowed to visit, including Canada, Japan, South Korea and China among others.
Member-government envoys in Brussels on Tuesday urged no expansion of a list of 15 countries.
Countries allowed to Visit Europe:
- Algeria
- Australia
- Canada
- Georgia
- Japan
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- New Zealand
- Rwanda
- Serbia
- South Korea
- Thailand
- Tunisia
- Uruguay
This was the first biweekly review of its July 1 move to loosen restrictions that came into place following the pandemic.
A resurgence of the virus around the world is contributing to the resistance to open borders and emerge from national lockdowns.
While health policies in the EU are normally a national responsibility, the 27-nation bloc has so far coordinated voluntarily.
The European travel ban on Americans was announced on June 26 and went into effect on July 1.
The U.S. Travel Association called the restrictions on American travelers “incredibly disappointing and a step in the wrong direction as we seek to rebuild our global economy.”
The EU diplomats also recommended shortening the list to 13 states by removing Serbia and Montenegro as a result of new infections there.
Still, some EU capitals are going their own way. European airline and airport groups last week criticized the failure of member countries to uniformly follow the recommendation regarding the July 1 loosening, citing “a patchwork system of travel restrictions and border controls throughout Europe,” Bloomberg reported
On Tuesday, Dublin-based discount airline Ryanair Holdings Plc said it would pare back its reopening in Ireland because of travel restrictions that aren’t aligned with the EU guidance.
The carrier said it would cut as many as 1,000 planned flights between Ireland and the U.K. in August and September. The Irish decision to quarantine travelers from other EU countries, as well as from the U.K., while opening the border with Northern Ireland “makes no sense,” Ryanair said in a statement.
U.S. travelers craving a European vacation can still currently travel to Croatia as well as Serbia and North Macedonia
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