The European Union officially starts lifting travel restrictions at the external borders for residents of some third countries on July 1, according to a press release published by the Council of the European Union after a tense two-week discussion, APA reports.
So far, the list includes only 14 states for which a compromise has been reached between members of the community. Russia and the United States are not on the list of "safe states" - they do not yet satisfy epidemiological criteria.
In particular, citizens of Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay will be the first to plan short trips to Europe. It concerns resuming the issuance of standard short-term tourist Schengen visas, or the provision of business visas.
China is also on the list but still "subject to confirmation of reciprocity." That means that Chinese citizens can start travelling to Europe only after the Chinese government agrees to open China’s borders for Europeans.