E.U. recommends lifting bans on U.S. travelers - The Washington Post

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BRUSSELS — In a long-awaited move that could soon mark the resumption of near-normal travel from the United States to Europe for the first time in more than a year, the European Union has formally recommended that the 27-member bloc gradually lift restrictions on nonessential travel from the United States.

The recommendation is not legally binding, so members must set their own travel restrictions, along with measures such as quarantine on arrival requirements.. But the recommendation by Europe’s economy ministers, once widely implemented, could mean a major boost to tourism-dependent economies across the continent.

The United States, however, has not yet lifted its sweeping ban on many E.U. travelers.

In addition to the United States, the E.U. on Friday recommended the authorization of nonessential travel from Albania, Japan, Lebanon, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia and Taiwan.

The countries join the European Union’s existing “white list” from early May, which includes Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, Macao, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. The list also included China, subject to confirmation of reciprocity.

Inclusion on the list means E.U. nations can accept travelers regardless of their coronavirus vaccination status.

Some European countries, including Greece, Portugal and Spain, are already accepting vaccinated U.S. travelers.

The German transport minister Andreas Scheuer said Friday that he hoped normal air travel between Europe and the United States would resume soon. “We also need the other direction — that flying to the United States will be possible again,” Scheuer told an aviation conference, Reuters reported.

European officials and policymakers said they hoped that the bloc would reach herd immunity by July. So far, around 45 percent of the nearly 450 million E.U. residents have been inoculated with at least one shot, and around half of those have been fully vaccinated.

Earlier this week, the E.U. Parliament also formally approved legislation to create a digital certificate system starting July 1 that would scrap quarantine requirements for people who can prove they are vaccinated or that they have recently recovered from covid-19 or tested negative for the virus.

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