The EU Council has moved from intentions to action: last week the agency studied the issue of excluding Ukraine from the safe list of third EU countries, and on Tuesday, November 9, officially announced its exclusion for epidemiological reasons. The “company” of Ukraine was Singapore – an Asian country is now also recognized as dangerous for tourism. The decision was announced by the EU Council in a press release.
The reduction in the list of safe travel destinations for third countries clearly shows a growing trend of anxiety around tourism. The revision of the list means that Member States are now encouraged to reintroduce entry restrictions for those coming from Singapore and Ukraine, in particular for unvaccinated travelers. “Following consideration of the recommendation to phase out temporary restrictions on” minor “travel to the EU, the Council updated the list of countries, special administrative regions and other entities and territorial bodies to which travel restrictions should be lifted. In particular, Singapore and Ukraine were excluded from the list, “the EU Council said in a press release.
The decision came after Singapore and Ukraine reported a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. WHO data show that in the last 24 hours alone, Singapore has reported 2,553 new cases of covid, with a population of 5.686 million. On the other hand, Ukraine, which has a population of 44.13 million, reported 13,068 new cases.
It will be recalled that last week the Rada was set to exclude Ukraine from the list of safe countries. This information was also confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, which hastened to point out that although the country was excluded from the white list, it did not affect the agreement on visa-free travel between Ukraine and the EU – details here.
The last time the EU authorities “took over” the list of safe third countries was on October 29. Argentina, Colombia, Namibia and Peru were then added. Soon, several countries began to apply this recommendation, including Germany and Sweden.
The previous time the EU authorities updated the list was on October 8. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates fell into this tranche. As of 9 November, the list of safe third EU countries is as follows:
Argentina
Australia
Bahrain
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Jordan
Kuwait
Namibia
New Zealand
Peru
Qatar
Rwanda
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
China – subject to confirmation of reciprocity
According to the EU Council, Member States are strongly encouraged to lift the entry ban for tourists from these countries, as well as for the special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macao. It is recommended that the travel ban for Chinese travelers be lifted when China reciprocates.