On 16 July, the European Council issued a circular updating the list of countries without restrictions on non-essential travel. The note contains a ‘lrevised whitelist of countries to which travel is possible leisure and tourism. If compared to the list adopted on 30 June, two countries have been removed from the list (Montenegro and Serbia) and no new countries have been added.
According to the criteria and conditions set out in the recommendation, from 16 July Member States should gradually lift travel restrictions at the external borders for residents of the following third countries:
- Algeria
- Australia
- Canada
- Georgia
- Japan
- Morocco
- New Zealand
- Rwanda
- South Korea
- Thailand
- Tunisia
- Uruguay
- China, subject to confirmation of reciprocity.
Residents of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican shall be considered EU residents for the purposes of this recommendation.
The criteria for determining the third countries for which the current travel restriction is to be lifted cover in particular the epidemiological situation and containment measures, including physical distancing, as well as economic and social considerations.
The countries listed must meet the following criteria::
- New Covid-19 cases in the past 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants close to or below the EU average as at 15 June 2020
- Stable or decreasing trend of new cases during this period compared to the previous 14 days.
- Overall response to COVID-19, based on available information, including testing, surveillance, contact tracing, containment, treatment and reporting, as well as the reliability of information and, if necessary, the overall average International Health Regulations (IHR) score.
- Information provided by EU delegations on these aspects should also be taken into account.
- Reciprocity must also be taken into account regularly and on a case-by-case basis.
For countries where travel restrictions continue to apply, the following categories of persons should be exempted from the restrictions:
- EU citizens and their families.
- EU long-term residents and their families.
- Travelers with an essential function or need, as indicated in the recommendation.
- The countries associated with Schengen (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) also participate in this recommendation.
The Council's recommendation is not a legally binding instrument. The authorities of the Member States remain responsible for implementing the content of the recommendation. They can, with complete transparency, only progressively lift travel restrictions towards the countries listed.
A Member State should not decide to lift travel restrictions for non-listed third countries before this has been decided in a coordinated manner.
This list of third countries should continue to be reviewed every two weeks and can be updated by the Council, as appropriate, following close consultations with the Commission and relevant EU agencies and services following a general assessment based on the above criteria.