EU Takes U.S. Off Save Travel List, Backs Travel Restrictions

The European Union (EU) recommended Monday that its 27 nations reinstate restrictions on tourists from the US because of rising coronavirus infections there, but member countries will keep the option of allowing fully vaccinated US travelers in.

Photo Insert: Americans hoping to visit Europe may have to put a hold on their travel plans unless they are fully vaccinated.

The decision by the European Council to remove the US from a safe list of countries for nonessential travel reverses the advice that it gave in June, when the bloc recommended lifting restrictions on all US travelers before the summer tourism season, Samuel Petrequin, Josh Hoffner, Sylvia Hui, and Joshua Boak reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The EU’s decision reflects growing anxiety that the rampant spread of the virus in the U.S. could jump to Europe at a time when Americans are allowed to travel to the continent.

Both the EU and the US have faced rising infections this summer, driven by the more contagious delta variant.

The guidance issued Monday is nonbinding, however. American tourists should expect a mishmash of travel rules across the continent since the EU has no unified COVID-19 tourism policy and national EU governments have the authority to decide whether or how they keep their borders open during the pandemic.

More than 15 million Americans a year visited Europe before the coronavirus crisis, and new travel restrictions could cost European businesses billions in lost travel revenues, especially in tourism-reliant countries like Croatia, which has been surprised by packed beaches and hotels this summer.

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