EU diplomats on Tuesday agreed to take Serbia and Montenegro off the list of non-Schengen countries whose residents can travel to the EU, two diplomats told POLITICO.
The decision to further limit the number of external countries with which travel is recommended comes amid concern about the global evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. Serbia and Montenegro will be taken off the list due to the deteriorating situation in both countries, the diplomats said.
No new countries will be added to the list, which is being reviewed two weeks after it was first agreed — meaning countries including the United States remain excluded.
“The general mood in the room is to demonstrate the maximum caution, because there are worries about the evolution” of the pandemic, said one EU diplomat.
Following Tuesday’s agreement among ambassadors, the German presidency of the Council of the EU has launched a written procedure. If no objections are raised by national capitals the update will be officially adopted on Wednesday.
The first version of the list was agreed at the end of June and included 15 countries plus the European micro-states of Andorra, San Marino and the Vatican. Countries that will remain on the list are Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay and China.
It’s only a recommendation, meaning it’s up to national capitals to decide whether to apply the restrictions. The implementation of the first version of the list has been patchy, with only three countries — Luxembourg, Latvia and Lithuania — following it to the letter.
The list is updated every two weeks based on a number of epidemiological criteria including the country’s infection rate and coping capacity, as well as the reliability of data and the willingness of the country to reciprocate by opening up to EU residents.
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