The European Union Council announced it is lifting its travel ban on a number of countries–but the Unites States is not among them. The EU is a political alliance of 27 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. Other countries which will abide by this recommendation include Iceland, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
The countries on the list were selected because of their COVID-19 counts and control measures, including social distancing, mask wearing, and hygiene practices, COVID-19 testing, and more.
The following countries are allowed into the European Union countries.
- Algeria
- Australia
- Canada
- Georgia
- Japan
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- New Zealand
- Rwanda
- Serbia
- South Korea
- Thailand
- Tunisia
- Uruguay
- China, subject to confirmation of reciprocity
The EU Council says it plans to review the list every two weeks. Countries will be considered if their COVID-19 counts go down and they have put appropriate control measures in place.
There are exceptions to the ban –essential workers, and permanent or long-term residents of the EU and their families.