Off the EU guest list

Calls for US tourist ban as COVID spikes

The European Union recommended on Monday that its members bar nonessential travel from the United States because of the surge in COVID-19 infections.

The 27-nation bloc had suggested in May that its member states lift restrictions on such trips, allowing American tourists to visit during the key summer season.

But the EU has now again removed the US from its “safe list” of countries whose residents can travel for nonessential reasons as long as they show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.

The advisory, announced on Monday, calls on states to require US visitors to prove their travel is essential and face restrictions such as quarantines and testing requirements.

Still, the recommendation is not mandatory, and national governments have the authority to decide whether to keep their borders open to US tourists.

Some EU countries, such as Germany and Belgium, had already rated the US as “red,” which means tests and quarantines are required of American visitors.

Meanwhile, the US has yet to reopen its own borders to EU tourists, despite calls from the bloc for the Biden administration to lift the ban.

The EU also removed Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and North Macedonia from the safe travel list on Monday.

“This list will continue to be reviewed regularly and, as the case may be, updated,” the European Council said in a statement.

To be placed on the safe list, a country must not have recorded more than 75 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the past 14 days.

The US has long been well over that threshold. Last week, new cases per day averaged over 150,000, making it more than 300 per 100,000 people, Reuters data show.