Editor's Note: This story was originally published on May 19, and has been updated as of June 16.
On May 19, the European Union started the process of welcoming international travelers back, as ambassadors from 27 EU countries approved a European Commission proposal from earlier in the month designed to loosen the standards determining who can visit the bloc.
Today, another major step forward was taken, with EU governments agreeing to add the United States and five other nations to their list of countries from which they will allow non-essential travel. The change is expected to go into effect in the coming days, following a formal vote on the recommendation this Friday.
In addition to the U.S., Albania, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Serbia and Taiwan will be added to the list of those allowed to visit.
If approved, the measure will apply to all U.S. travelers, including those who are not vaccinated, though the EU recommendation is nonbinding and not enforceable — so, individual member countries will be able to decide how and when to adopt the policy, as well as set their own entry requirements (such as mandating COVID-19 vaccination or testing in order for travelers to enter).
Where vaccination is required, vaccines currently authorized by the EU’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, include those made by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. (The commission has also proposed that EU member nations be allowed to decide individually whether to allow visitors who have been immunized with other vaccines approved by the World Health Organization for emergency use, such as the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.)
Also among the EU's May recommendations was an “emergency brake” policy, which could be implemented to stop all but essential travel from a particular country, should the need arise based on the risk of dangerous variants entering the EU (as was proposed for India).
Following the news in May, Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, issued a statement urging the U.S. to follow the European Union’s lead in creating a plan to restart international travel.
“The European Union’s risk-based, science-driven plan to reopen international travel will hopefully spur the U.S. to heed the many calls for a plan and timetable to safely reopen our borders,” Dow said. “The right conditions are in place: vaccinations are increasing, infections are decreasing, all inbound visitors get tested or have to prove they’ve recovered, and it’s possible to determine vaccine status.”
“The U.S. has been a leader in many aspects of managing the pandemic, but is behind our global competitors in pursuing an international economic reopening,” he added. “The millions of travel-related U.S. jobs that were lost to the pandemic won’t come back on the strength of domestic travel alone, so identifying the path to restarting international visitation is essential to an overall economic recovery.”
