European Union reopens to tourists from the United States and five other countries

European Union (EU) countries on Wednesday gave the green light to add the United States and five other nations to the list of epidemiologically safe states, whose citizens can travel to the EU for fun and not just as part of an essential trip, informed Efe European sources.

The idea was raised by Portugal, the country which chairs the Council of the European Union this semester, and was approved this Wednesday at a meeting of the ambassadors of the Member States to the EU (Coreper).

The other countries for which a lifting of restrictions is proposed given the epidemiological situation and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic are Albania, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Serbia and Taiwan, said the same sources.

On the other hand, the European Union agreed on Wednesday remove the reciprocity clause for the Chinese regions of Macao and Hong Kong, which were already among the areas to which the EU allowed non-essential travel.

In this way, Citizens of these regions will be able to enter the EU, whether or not the same conditions apply to Europeans visiting them..

The criteria for determining third countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted have been updated in the past May 20.

The EU list, which is updated every two weeks, also includes Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea and Singapore, as well as China on the basis of reciprocity.

To decide who to add, the the epidemiological situation and the general response to COVID-19, as well as the reliability and availability of information.

For citizens of the countries listed, each member state decides whether or not to impose a quarantine on arrival in its territory.

(With information from EFE)

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