The European Union Removes the U.S. From Its Safe Travels List

On Aug. 30, 2021, the European Union (EU) updated its list of countries it recommends non-essential travel restrictions should be lifted for, removing five countries and one territory including the U.S. The others removed from the list are Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and the Republic of North Macedonia.

What does this mean for Americans who want to travel to the countries in the EU? First, this list created by the EU is not a hard and fast rule but rather a recommendation to the 27 countries that make up the EU. Each country is responsible for implementing the recommendation how they choose, which means a country could ban all non-essential travelers from the U.S. outright or could institute a vaccine mandate or a mandatory quarantine upon arrival. The implementation of this recommendation is up to each individual country.

The 27 countries in the EU are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Spain, for example, updated their entry requirements and as of Sept. 6, 2021, U.S. citizens can travel from the United States to Spain on non-essential travel (such as tourism) if they show proof of vaccination and fill out a Health Control Form before departing to Spain.

The bottom line is if you are hoping to travel to any of the 27 countries in the EU, check either the website that country’s U.S. embassy (simply Google “[country name] US embassy”) or that country’s CVB’s website for the latest entry requirements or both places, to get the most complete and up-to-date information possible.

Editor’s Note: Entry requirements may still vary by country, so travel advisors should always check the individual country’s entry requirements before a client’s departure to ensure travelers are adhering to all necessary requirements.