Coronavirus: the difficult reopening of the external borders of the European Union

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The EU started on 15 June to reopen its internal borders and decided to start on 1 July to reopen its external borders. But it may not reopen to US residents and decide to do it for residents of China, for example. This prospect is obviously capable of causing new diplomatic turmoil between Americans and Europeans.

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With our office in Brussels,

The 27 are moving towards reopening the European borders on July 1 to a list of less than fifteen countries. These countries are those with a prevalence of Covid-19 lower than the European average. This means that only countries that have fewer than sixteen cases of coronavirus contamination per 100,000 population will have their nationals admitted to the EU and to the Schengen area, which also includes Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

Europeans struggled to draw up their first list because they wanted it to be based entirely on scientific criteria. Objective criteria so that it is unassailable and that the EU cannot be accused of ostracism or favoritism. The fact remains that the United States , Russia or Brazil should not have their nationals admitted.

A list that can be revised every 15 days

On the other hand, New Zealand, Rwanda, Morocco, Thailand or Uruguay should be among the lucky ones. China also if it ever decides to open its own borders to Europeans.

And this list, which is so difficult to establish, should be revised every two weeks even if in reality it is only a recommendation that the 27 can decide whether or not to apply.

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• European Union
• Coronavirus
• China
• United States
• Confinement

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