European Union plans to block travelers from countries severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, including the US, according to officials.
European countries will reopen their borders to international travel. The European Commission are coordinating with member states on determining which visitors could safely visit starting July 1.
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Several sources told CNN they had not gotten hold of lists of specific countries, but officials are preparing the criteria that could be used as guidance. Sources claimed that discussions were ongoing.
The guidance will discuss how countries of origin are handling the coronavirus pandemic.
"The criteria will be focused on circulation of the virus," said an EU diplomat. The diplomat noted that Brussels may keep out travelers from countries "where the virus is circulating most actively."
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The European Commission's recommendations are not mandatory. Individual states may decide on how to open up borders.
An EU diplomat stressed the first point of a June 11 checklist from the European Commission on the things to consider when allowing travelers into the EU when asked if the US was on the list of origin countries.
The first point on the checklist refers to whether a country can "be considered as being in a comparable or better epidemiological situation as the average in the EU+ area." This is based on the number of new infections as well as trend of new infections and response in areas, including surveillance, reporting, testing, containment, contact tracing, and treatment.
The US has recorded the highest number of coronavirus deaths and infections in the world. The coronavirus pandemic has infected 2,346,937 individuals and led to 121,224 deaths as of late Tuesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
The EU diplomat noted that some European countries were "reticent about reopening at all," due to the possible resurgence of the coronavirus infection.
US travel restrictions could vary by region
According to a report from The New York Times, Americans might not be able to enter the European bloc as borders reopen. The paper suggests it got hold of draft lists of countries deemed acceptable or not, based on their coronavirus situation.
In an interview with CNN, a State Department spokesperson said: "We are committed to coordinating with our European partners and allies as we look forward to reopening our economies and easing restrictions. We continue to urge US citizens to check the websites of the relevant US embassy or consulate websites for information on entry restrictions, foreign quarantine policies, and urgent health information provided by local governments."
The options may include travel restrictions based on US geographic regions, rather than a complete ban on the entire country, since some regions record higher infection rates than others, according to two EU officials.
Another EU diplomat disclosed that the permanent representatives of the EU member states to the European Union would revisit the matter on Wednesday. The diplomat stressed what they knew of was the criteria.
Those criteria included the incidence of coronavirus per 100,000 people over the past 14 days.
The EU diplomat also mentioned reciprocity as a consideration.
"The US travel ban is far more strict, so it's hard to imagine them putting up a fuss for this, and they haven't," a senior European official said.
Health considerations
A third European diplomat revealed to CNN that the planned travel ban is not associated with the executive order signed by US President Donald Trump that temporarily suspends visas for foreign workers. "It's purely based on health considerations," this source said.
Another EU official shared the same view. "This has been hiding in plain sight since 11 June, when we published the criteria. This is nothing new in the story for the US," the official said.
"This has absolutely nothing to do with political decisions, this is based on the current health situation in a third country. I know some media have said for instance the executive order the United States President signed is part of this decision; it could not be further from the situation."
Europe remains the world's biggest vacation destination, based on EU figures, and tourism makes up 10% of Europe's GDP. "We are keen, and member states are keen for Europe to be open for tourism, for jobs," said the official.
"Our first priority is we are in a pandemic, and we need to keep our citizens safe," a fourth diplomat said.
"We are working to an agreement that would allow us to coordinate the opening of the borders and we are discussing which countries are going to be allowed in first, and this is a positive list, we want people to come."
