The Council of the European Union recommended that member states lift the travel ban for residents of Argentina, Colombia, Namibia and Peru as soon as possible.
The recommendation was published on Friday, October 29, following a revision of the list of epidemiologically safe third EU countries, to which all four countries were added.
“Following a review under the recommendation to gradually remove temporary restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU, the Council has updated the list of countries, special administrative regions and other entities and territorial bodies for which travel restrictions should be lifted,” the Council said in a press release, announcing about new additions to the list.
“In particular, Argentina, Colombia, Namibia and Peru were added to the list,” reads further.
World Health Organization data show that all four countries have reported low numbers of COVID-19 cases in recent days.
For example, in Namibia, home to 2.541 million people, only nine new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours. While in Peru, with a population of 32.97 million, 793 new cases were reported.
As for Argentina and Colombia, whose populations are larger – 45.38 million and 50.88 million, respectively – 1415 and 1428 cases have been registered here in the last 24 hours.
Member states are now strongly encouraged to lift restrictions on entry to the following countries, according to a statement from the EU Council:
Argentina (new)
Australia
Bahrain
Canada
Chile
Colombia (new)
Jordan
Kuwait
Namibia (new)
New Zealand
Peru (new)
Qatar
Rwanda
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Korea
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
China, subject to confirmation of reciprocity
The travel ban should also be lifted for the special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as for Taiwan, the council said.
However, since the list is not legally binding, and member states are free to remove entry restrictions at external borders for residents of countries not listed above, or impose restrictions on entry from listed countries.