This archive report was first published on 8 July 2020.
On July 8, 2020, the European Union made the decision to exclude the United States from a list of countries whose nationals can visit the bloc due to rising COVID-19 cases.
According to reports, the US and EU are in discussions to establish procedures and protocols for resuming travel between the two regions.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed optimism about the progress made in these talks, stating, "We've made some real progress -- technical progress -- and now we need to draw that to a conclusion."
He also emphasized the importance of a system to monitor and measure the effectiveness of any travel restrictions, saying, "And then there'll be a system -- a system to monitor and measure to make sure that we get the timing right."
President Donald Trump had previously imposed a ban on most Europeans in March, which drew widespread criticism. However, Europe has since contained its COVID-19 outbreaks, while the US has seen a significant increase in daily cases and over 130,000 deaths.
