Report: European Union Votes to Add U.S. to Safe Travel List
by Daniel McCarthy /Photo: Radu Razvan / Shutterstock.com.
Travel restrictions on Americans heading to Europe will reportedly be coming to an end very soon.
According to reports, the European Union on Wednesday voted to add the United States to its safe travel list, which would make it easier for Americans to take a vacation in one of the 27 member states. The news comes ahead of the normally busy summer travel season for both Americans and for the major European destinations.
The U.S. was one of eight countries with enough votes to be added to the safe travel list. The others are Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Lebanon, Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong. Canada and the U.K. were not included.
Travelers are still awaiting final word from the EU authorities on what the entry requirements would be. According to reports, individual EU countries will have the authority to decide for themselves how they want to enforce inbound travel restrictions, including testing and vaccination requirements.
Now with the U.S. on the safe list, the expectation is that Americans will not be forced to quarantine upon arrival, though they may be forced to produce a negative COVID-19 test.
There is still no definitive date as to when the restrictions would lift but according to a Portuguese spokesperson cited by the German press agency DPA, a decision could be formally announced by the end of the week, and then travel rules would go into effect sometime after that.
Travel to Europe has largely been on hold for Americans since the start of the pandemic after most of the EU’s member states banned travel during their early fights against the spread of COVID-19. Some members, including Spain, have reopened to full vaccinated Americans.
The news comes after months of reports that the EU was looking to reopen to travel. Reports last month in Reuters and in the New York Times broke the news that the EU had agreed to start to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travelers and other non-vaccinated tourists from countries considered “safe” from a COVID perspective.
