Around 12 million Americans travel to the EU every summer, with Italy, France, Germany and Spain among the most popular destinations, but that’s unlikely to happen until the US gets the virus under control.
Tourists around the world have been banned from travelling to the EU since mid-March, but countries have been starting to lift travel restrictions to fellow member states within the bloc over the past few weeks.
The final decision on which countries will be excluded from the EU’s list of admissible travellers is expected early next week, before the bloc reopens on July 1.
Member states are considering two potential lists of acceptable visitors, depending on how their countries are faring during the pandemic.
While the final lists have not been published or even set in stone, the New York Times reported that it has seen two draft versions with the US placed on the banned lists.
However, nationals from countries like New Zealand and Australia will almost certainly be allowed to travel to the EU again after July 1, given the low infection rates in those countries and the success they have had in controlling the outbreak.
The lists will reportedly be reviewed “on a regular basis” and countries can be added or withdrawn depending on how active the virus is.
The EU has stated that countries should only be given the green light if their infection rates are the same or better than the EU average.
In March, when cases were rising in Europe, President Donald Trump banned most EU citizens from entering the US in a bid to curb the outbreak there, angering EU officials.
