US to be removed from EU travel ‘safe list’: report

The European Union is reportedly planning to recommend that its member nations reinstate restrictions on travelers from the U.S. due to the rising level of COVID-19 infections.

EU diplomats speaking to The Associated Press said the recommendation to reverse a June decision to lift restrictions on U.S. travelers could come as early as this week. However, the AP reports that any decision regarding this matter would be nonbinding, as the EU does not have a unified COVID-19 policy on tourism.

The Hill has reached out to the EU for further comment.

The EU requires countries to have fewer than 75 cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, a stable or decreasing trend of new cases and a positivity rate of 4 percent or less. 

According to EU data, the U.S. had about 588 cases per 100,000 people. According to the most recent numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the positivity rate is about 10 percent. 

Though recommendations have yet to be released, the EU advisory could affect some of its member nations as they move to reopen.

It was reported last week that Denmark, an EU member, would lift all COVID-19 restrictions beginning in September.

Denmark’s health minister, Magnus Heunicke, cited “record vaccination levels” when announcing the plans.

“That is why we can drop the special rules we had to introduce in the fight against COVID-19,” Heunicke added.

–Updated on August 31 at 7:44 a.m.