US excluded from list of countries allowed access to EU from 1 July.

The European Union will reopen its external borders to 14 countries from 1 July, however the US has been excluded from this travel list, released on 30 June.

The EU issued the finalised list of "acceptable countries", based on how well the nations are faring in handling the covid-19 pandemic, after a delay of several days due to some EU member states seeking more time to decide.

The countries whose citizens will have quarantine-free access to the EU from 1 July include: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, Montenegro, Morocco, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.

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The EU says that China could also be added to this list but only if Beijing reciprocates by permitting entry to EU nationals.

However travellers from Brazil, Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States will not be granted access to the EU, at least in the first stage of reopening.

Border management will remain a matter of national decision, meaning that member countries may decide not to open their borders to all the 15 countries, however they will undertake not to accept visitors from other nations.

Countries on the EU safe list are also expected to lift any bans they might have in place on European travellers, reports the Associated Press.

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