Europe maintains entry ban on US citizens

USPA NEWS - The European Union will open its external borders to fifteen countries this Wednesday, not including the United States, Russia and Brazil, three of the nations currently most affected by COVID-19. The opening of borders is conditional on reciprocity by the fifteen elected and the European Commission leaves the member countries free to prevent the entry of nationals of those fifteen countries when such reciprocity does not occur.

The borders of the European Union will continue to be closed to travelers from the United States, Russia, India and Brazil, among others. Except for Uruguay, no Latin American country has permission to enter European territory. This closure of borders to the Americans, who last year left more than 6,000 million euros in Spanish territory, is especially damaging for Spain, although the Government of Madrid defends the measure agreed by 'The 27' in its desire to avoid importation of new infections. The list of countries vetoed by the EU was confirmed on Tuesday, after several days of intense negotiations between community partners.

In addition to Uruguay, travelers from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, in the Maghreb, have a European entry permit; those from Serbia and Montenegro, in the Balkans; and those from Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand, Georgia and Rwanda. Similarly, travelers from China, provided that the Asian country applies the same measure to European citizens. In the case of Spain, this detail would allow the Government of Madrid to prohibit the entry of Moroccan citizens if Rabat does not allow the entry of Spaniards into its territory.

The European authorities assure that in the elaboration of the list - which initially contained forty names and, finally, it has been reduced to fifteen - sanitary criteria such as the epidemiological situation of each country have prevailed, assessing whether the number of infections per 100,000 inhabitants is below the European average for the last fourteen days. The epidemiological evolution of the last weeks and the capacity of the countries to carry out tests and apply containment measures in the case of outbreaks have also been taken into account. It is the reason why the entrance is closed to the American, Russian, Hindus and Brazilian citizens. But in the discussions of recent days, political criteria have also prevailed, in accordance with the interests of each European partner.

Travelers from countries that are not authorized to enter European territory may only enter if they are citizens or residents of the EU, or if they are travelers with essential functions or needs, including medical experts, transport personnel and students. The Commission has left in the hands of national governments the decision to authorize or not the entry of non-EU citizens into their territories. In fact, the list of fifteen authorized countries does not guarantee citizens of those countries entry to all European countries. The agreement will be applied voluntarily by the United Kingdom, which is in the process of separating from the EU.