US Citizens Likely to be Left Out as Europe Reopens Borders
Brussels also says Europe's borders should not be open to any country with a ban on European travelers
The United States is working with the European Union (EU) and countries across the world on how to "safely reopen international travel" after months of COVID-19 lockdown and quarantine measures.
Draft recommendations and media reports that have emerged from the EU about reopening borders suggest Americans may be prevented from traveling to Europe because of the high number of coronavirus cases in the United States.
"We have to make sure that we have all of the elements in place to reopen travel between the EU and the United States," said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday in a press briefing.
"We're working on finding the right way to do that, the right timing to do it, the right tactics to have in place," Pompeo said. The top U.S. diplomat added he's "very confident" that in the coming weeks they will work out "plans and methods" to "get global travel back in place."
European nations appear to be on track to reopen their borders, beginning in July. Draft internal EU recommendations suggest allowing entry by non-EU nationals from countries with stable or decreasing coronavirus infections.
Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported more than 34,000 new coronavirus cases, which brought the total to more than 2.3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases across the country.
According to data published by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, the U.S. has the most confirmed coronavirus cases, followed by Brazil and Russia.
In March, U.S. President Donald Trump announced travel restrictions on 26 European countries in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
U.S. citizens are permitted to return from the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Schengen area that covers 26 European countries.