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After more than three months cut off from the world, the Schengen area is once again opening up to outside countries. The Europeans agreed on Monday, and will reopen their borders to nationals of 14 countries, as of Wednesday. Fourteen out of 160 countries, a small start, but the Europeans respected health criteria to avoid any risk of importing new cases of Covid-19. Visitors from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Canada, or even Australia will be welcome, but not nationals of the United States, Turkey, or even Israel.
Europeans prefer visitors from countries whose epidemiological situation is similar to that of the EU where the pandemic has receded, or even better. The rate of new Covid-19 cases must not exceed 16 per 100,000 population (EU average) over the past 14 days, based on data from June 15.
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Reciprocity, not necessarily required
China, it fulfills health conditions, but Europe requires, to open its borders, that Beijing does the same, which, according to a diplomatic source, has not yet left for.
On the other hand, for the 14 countries on the list, reciprocity is not specifically required. Also, we French cannot necessarily go to New Zealand or Algeria, these two steps not wanting us for the moment.
The decision to open to nationals of these 14 steps must, moreover, be adapted by each European country. In France, it will take effect on Wednesday for all the countries listed. But each capital can be restrictive and open only five or six steps, for example. Indeed, the adopted recommendation is not legally binding, EU countries being sovereign over the control of their borders and may decide, for example, to reopen them only to part of the authorized countries. However, coordination is considered essential because of the freedom of movement within the Schengen area, where the restrictions decided to combat the pandemic have been gradually lifted.