EU to reopen external borders, excluding key countries
After months of travel lockdowns, the EU will today open its borders to non-essential tourists from 15 countries.
Today’s re-opening notably excludes the US. Brussels has stated that this decision is not political in nature but rather is based on the current scale of the pandemic in the US. Over the past four months, US cases have flatlined then started resurging and setting new daily records, while Europe has seen an appreciable slowdown in the spread of the virus.
By excluding American travellers, the EU has indicated that it does not trust the US government’s handling of the pandemic. After four years of strain on the transatlantic relationship over security and trade issues, European governments have now indicated that relations with the US will not reset until Washington enacts changes to voting laws and international treaties to stabilise agreements from the meddling of future administrations. As Europe turns away the income from the 28 million American tourists that visit the continent annually and courts travellers from countries like China, the EU has expressed willingness to change the dynamic of a transatlantic economic relationship for political ends.
Wake up smarter with an assessment of the stories that will make headlines in the next 24 hours. Download The Daily Brief.
