As expected, the European Union recommended today that its 27 member nations reinstate travel restrictions for American tourists because of rising coronavirus infections in the United States.
The European Council has decided to remove the U.S. from its ‘safe list’ of countries for nonessential travel. This is a reversal from its June decision to recommend lifting restrictions on all American travelers just as the summer tourism season kicked off.
The E.U.’s new recommendation clearly differentiates between vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers; fully vaccinated travelers should still be allowed to travel if they can show a negative result from a Covid-19 test taken within three days of arrival.
However, this guidance is non-binding, so individual countries in the E.U. bloc can decide to impose their own sets of restrictions. Travelers should expect a messy patchwork of different rules and regulations across the continent, much like they encounter a mishmash of non-uniform rules and regulations across the U.S. Unvaccinated U.S. travelers will likely be faced with rigorous restrictions including frequent testing and quarantines upon entry, if they are allowed to enter at all.
