European Union Set to Recommend Banning Nonessential Travel From U.S. As Covid Cases Rise

Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images.

The European Union is set to recommend banning all nonessential travel from the U.S. due to rising Covid-19 cases, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

According to the Journal, the U.S. was recommended to be removed from the list of countries permitted entry for nonessential travel along with five other countries, and a final decision is expected on Monday. The report also noted that two diplomats “said they weren’t aware of any objections so far.”

Member countries do not have to abide by the EU travel list recommendations, but they have been widely followed and accepted as guidance. However, it is up to the individual country to determine who will be permitted entry based on the pandemic.

In late April, the European Union announced that fully vaccinated Americans would be able to visit Europe starting in the summer, but that announcement came as the U.S. averaged about 58,000 new Covid-19 cases per day. However, the U.S. is now reporting around 150,000 new cases per day, largely in part due to the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.

The move, however, was likely also influenced by the fact that the U.S. has continued to bar nonessential travel from Europe.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in early August that she would not let the lack of reciprocity between the U.S. and EU to “drag on for weeks.”

Essential travel from the U.S. is not expected to be affected.