According to the council’s statement on Thursday Ten more countries have been added to the list of countries considered epidemiologically safe: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Canada, Jordan, Montenegro, Qatar, Moldova, and Saudi Arabia.
EU member states should gradually lift their restrictions on non-essential entry for nationals of the countries concerned. However, the council’s recommendation is not legally binding. The authorities of Member States remain responsible for implementing the recommendation.
They added that a member state cannot decide to lift travel restrictions on a non-EU country that is not on the list before a coordinated decision is taken.
Albania, Australia, South Korea, the United States, North Macedonia, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Rwanda, Thailand, Serbia and Singapore are also reported to be on the EU list.
Taking into account the promotion of reciprocity, travel restrictions should also be phased out for the special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macao. The EU will lift restrictions on China if a similar Chinese move is taken.
Travel restrictions in Kosovo and Taiwan should also be phased out. Citizens of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland can also enter the Union without restrictions.
Cover Photo: Getty Images
