RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The European Union is completing a list of countries considered sufficiently safe for its citizens to travel as of July 1st. According to diplomatic sources, the document, to be unanimously approved, would be based on three criteria: health, reciprocity, and geographic proximity to EU countries.
This would leave out countries like Brazil, the United States, and Russia, which have failed to control the coronavirus pandemic. However, the drawing up of the list is proving to be a puzzle for the 27 EU countries, due to the challenge in finding a reliable source of data to support these reports.
The EU closed its external borders on March 16th, with the exception of “strictly necessary” trips such as the repatriation of Europeans. As July 1st approaches, some members are pressing harder for a list to be published before they begin to open them. For weeks, EU governments have been trying to complete a task that several sources describe as extremely complex.
Ambassadors on Wednesday tried to set up a first list of candidate countries to join this first round. In any case, the intention is to finalize it before July 1st, given the risk that national capitals will decide to follow their own criteria.
One of the most controversial points involves the United States, which counts 2.3 million cases of the virus and 120,000 deaths, suggesting that the spread of the virus is far from being controlled. If epidemiological criteria are followed, the EU should not yet open its borders to travelers from the US.
Nevertheless, the decision does not solely hinge on health data. The United States is currently barring European travelers from entering, so capitals may refuse the arrival of citizens from that country as a matter of reciprocity.
Government sources point to a third, more subjective element. In some cases, there will be political reasons or closeness to the country in question, that lead to opening doors even if there is no reciprocity. At the European Community level, there is mention of the Balkan countries.
In the case of Spain, the focus of interest is Morocco, which closed its border shortly after the pandemic was declared, but which has a very low infection level; therefore the return of the influx of people from that country entails a small risk.
But even under this criterion, deciding in favor of the US is not easy because Donald Trump himself ignored the importance of the transatlantic relationship by declaring, without warning, that all doors should be closed to EU citizens.
Tourist season
The pressure to open borders comes mainly from tourist destination countries, in particular Greece. Athens, which has drawn up its own list of 30 countries it considers safe, does not want to do without large markets such as Russia, and even suggests opening its borders to citizens of these states so that airlines and tour operators may offer their packages.
In contrast, other countries are opening their borders with the utmost caution. This is the case of Denmark, which until June 27th will only allow entry to German, Norwegian and Icelandic nationals. Spain is refraining from offering clues as to which countries will join the European list but is ensuring it will not act unilaterally.
However, preparing the list is not a simple task. All countries provide data on the scope of the pandemic. But several diplomatic sources question the reliability of many of these statistics. “The problem is one of trust,” argue EU sources. This is compounded by the fact that many countries contribute to the debate with political or closeness arguments, according to these sources.
However, diplomats hope to reach an agreement before July 1st, to prevent disagreement from jeopardizing health guarantees at the European Union’s external border, which would, in turn, pose a threat to the whole Schengen area of countries without border controls.
Source: El País