The European Union recommends that its 27 member states revert bans to U.S. travelers, a change that will greatly affect uninvolved people, as rising rates of new coronavirus infections have made the United States a global hot spot.
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E.U. Officials decided Monday to remove America from the "safe list" of the bloc of countries whose citizens should not face travel restrictions. But this step comes with a number of warnings: Recommendations are not legally binding, and it is up to the individual members to decide whether to apply them.
Officials concluded that if European countries received evidence of vaccination, they should continue to accept vaccinated travelers, regardless of where they came from, as long as they received a complete vaccine.
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The restrictions "may vary from province to province, but it is widely expected that completely vaccinated Americans will still have unlimited access" to the European Union, E said. a politician who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal negotiations.
The proposal comes after weeks of negotiations and amid growing tensions in the United States. E.U. The first restrictions were lifted for American travelers in June, a decision that reflected a progressive epidemiological picture and reopened the boundaries at the height of summer, when the tense economy of South Europe desperately demanded revenue for tourism.
But much has changed since then. Vaccination rates in many European countries have exceeded those in the United States, and delta-infected infections have exacerbated the fourth wave of disease.
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"The United States has received free passes in the summer, although the situation in many parts of the country has deteriorated dramatically," said Jacob Kirkegaard, an official at the German Marshall Fund who was following tourism policies.
Especially in the ‘post-epidemic’ movement.
According to official bloc recommendations, countries should not be "on the safe list" if they report more than 75 new cases of coronavirus to 100,000 residents in the past 14 days. The United States has already closed about 400 new cases per 100,000 people on August 10.
But E. adhered to border restrictions and instead pointed out that it "monitored the state of disease in countries where the covid situation was deteriorating," including the United States.
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About three weeks later, things get worse: The United States has reported more than 620 new cases per 100,000 people - more than eight times E. limit - according to statistics by the Washington Post.
By the end of summer and the fear that cold weather will bring more spread, E.U. officials decided they could no longer tolerate the high rate of new cases in the United States.
It is the latest chapter in the saga of progressive travel limits that has been a source of increasing transatlantic conflicts. As Europe made donations to American travelers, the United States refused to retaliate.
Most European travelers have been banned in the United States since the outbreak began. President Donald Trump proposed the legislation towards the end of his term, but President Biden quickly reinstated it after taking office. Critics say the ban - much harder than E. policy - damages business and keeps families divided.