BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has recommended that its 27 nations reinstate restrictions on tourists from the U.S. because of rising coronavirus infections there.
The decision by the European Council to remove the U.S. from a safe list of countries for nonessential travel reverses its advice in June, when the bloc recommended lifting restrictions on U.S. travelers before the summer tourism season.
The guidance is nonbinding, though, and U.S. travelers should expect a mishmash of travel rules across the continent.
National EU governments have the authority to decide whether they keep their borders open to U.S. tourists.
Britain is no longer part of the EU, so the recommendation doesn’t affect U.S. travel there. The U.S. remains on Britain’s “amber” travel list, meaning fully vaccinated adults arriving from the U.S. to the U.K. don’t have to self-isolate. Additionally, a COVID-19 test is required three days before arrival in the U.K. and another test is needed two days after arriving.
Coronavirus deaths have surged in the U.S. recently, rising to over 1,200 a day, and new daily cases are over 150,000 a day.
Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, and North Macedonia were also taken off the EU's safe travel list.
