Americans traveling to EU will face new Covid curbs as US set to be removed from ‘safe travel’ list

US citizens would be required to follow additional Covid restrictions, such as quarantine and testing, in 27 nations of EU

US citizens may soon be required to follow additional Covid restrictions in EU (AFP via Getty Images)

Americans traveling to the European Union will soon face additional Covid restrictions as the United States is set to be removed from the “safe travel” list.

The procedure to remove the US from the EU’s list has already begun, diplomats told Reuters on Friday. The update to the travel restrictions would also see Kosovo, Israel, Montenegro, Lebanon and North Macedonia removed from the safe travel list.

The restrictions, which would apply to citizens traveling to any of the 27 nations, would go into effect on Monday, according to the report, as long as no EU country objects.

The discussion of whether to reimpose Covid restrictions on Americans was recommended by Slovenia, according to Bloomberg, and comes as cases in the US continue to rise.

Per EU guidelines, in countries on the safe list, whose citizens can visit for non-essential travel, the number of Covid cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the last 14 days must not be above the limit of 75.

 According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the US had 507 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the first two weeks of August.

With the change, Americans who are unvaccinated would be required to abide by restrictions such as quarantine and testing requirements, Reuters said.