This archive report was first published on 2 July 2020.
On July 1, 2020, the European Union (EU) opened up non-essential travel to 54 countries, but Kenya was not among them. According to Reuters, Rwanda was the only East African nation on the list.
EU ambassadors had convened the previous week to set criteria for granting quarantine-free access. The list of eligible countries included Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Tunisia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia in Africa, as well as several other countries.
Further reviews narrowed down the list to 15 countries, with Rwanda, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco being the only African countries on the list. The EU has also included China on the list, but only on the condition of reciprocal action by the Chinese authorities.
EU Member states will review the list every two weeks, but individual countries have the liberty to exclude travelers from these countries at their own discretion. In response, Gabon has said that it will not grant visas to European tourists and business travelers, citing the principle of reciprocity.
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