After almost 15 weeks of closed borders, the long wait is finally over–international visitors will be allowed to visit the countries inside the EU bloc from 1 July. The only catch is that you must be from one of a small number of countries, and the U.S. is not one of them.
The New York Times reported Friday that the following countries have been granted access and are on the ‘safe list’; Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay, Andorra, San Marino, Monaco and the Vatican.
China will apparently be included if it agrees to a reciprocal arrangement, in that it must also be open to allowing travelers in from the EU, if it expects the same in return.
The list will be updated every two weeks.
President Trump unilaterally closed U.S. borders to countries in the EU’s Schengen border-free zone on March 14 and was widely criticised by EU leaders for taking the decision himself.
EU countries closed their own borders throughout March in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, at the same time as they were hoping to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Schengen agreement.
The Schengen Agreement is a pact by EU countries to remain borderless in what is known as the Schengen Area, meaning someone can drive from Germany to Spain without showing their passport. It was signed on 14 June 1985 in the small hamlet of Schengen at the tri-border point of Germany, Luxembourg and France.
Intra-EU borders opened on June 15, allowing residents of European countries to travel to some others, although these have been fiercely controlled.
Spain allowed 10,000 German visitors to travel to the Balearic Islands as a form of “virus tourism” before it opens its borders up in a wider sense on 1 July.
Denmark has allowed visits from its neighbours in Norway, Iceland and Germany but not in Sweden, where residents were not put under such strict lockdown conditions.
As reported by the BBC, EU countries have been divided over how to make the difficult decision. Some countries worried about worsening an already tense relationship with Russia and the U.S. (which have very high infection rates) and so would have to be barred for the time being.
Others, like France, thought that a decision should be made on a quid pro quo basis–if a country bars citizens of a certain EU country, then that EU should return the “favour” and bar their citizens from coming too. France also thought that consideration should also be given to non-Schengen countries if they allowed entry to its residents.
The New York Times reported that two lists had been drawn up, deciding which countries might be allowed entry on 1 July. China and Vietnam were on both lists: the U.S., Brazil and Russia weren’t on either.
The lists were drawn up based upon epidemiological criteria and weren’t intended to be political but it quoted the decision as being a blow and “a repudiation of President Trump’s handling of the virus” where Covid-19 infection rates are still spreading.
The United Kingdom is not part of the Schengen Agreement and is currently in talks (stalled during the pandemic) on how to leave the EU, since the 2016 Brexit referendum.
However, it is not being considered as needing to be on the list as it is still technically considered as an EU country. At the moment, it is difficult to cross the border (you must be resident or go into a 14-day quarantine).
Opening of the French/U.K. borders would be good news for both economies. 15% of France’s annual tourists are resident in the U.K. and The Telegraph reported how “France wants its tourists back–including the British”.