USA and Brazil go towards the EU no. It is very probable that from 1st July Europe, when it opens up to several foreign countries, will freeze the position of the South American giant and the United States. This is what filters out from the meeting of the ambassadors of all 27 member countries who met in Brussels yesterday. The rate of contagion is too high to open up in Washington and Brasilia. However, this is not a total closure: in case American and Brazilian tourists still want to come they will have to undergo quarantine (14 days). Rule that will also apply to other States with high levels of diffusion of the Covid-19.
China’s position is different. Beijingin fact, it boasts a number of positives that grows less rapidly. However, the issue of opportunity is being assessed in Europe. In short, rather than relying on an epidemiological criterion, it reflects not to break the delicate relations with the White House: saying yes to the Asian Giant and no to the USA, would be experienced as a rude from the other side of the Atlantic. However, there is still no official communication. Most likely it will come to have the famous list of countries admitted only tomorrow.
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EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA
Instead, what has been developed by the ambassadors of the Member States is the tool to be used to select the nations that will be able to fly to Europe again. To fall into the safe zone category it is necessary that the rate of new cases of coronavirus it remains below, or at least does not exceed, that of the European average, that is 16 out of 100 thousand inhabitants.
This would be the best line to follow: the primary objective, of course, is to protect the Schengen area and make joint decisions, avoiding that each government chooses to act on its own initiative and in a different way than the others.
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DIFFICULTIES
However, it is not easy to find a synthesis, above all because States of a certain importance (the United States and Brazil) would be excluded. The USA, in fact, are still considered at risk, according to the epidemiological criteria required by the European Union to be admitted to the list of countries whose citizens will be able to visit the Old Continent. The borders will reopen on Wednesday, so the time is short for the final decision.
At present, about 15 countries are readmitted, including New Zealand, Australia, Venezuela, Cuba, India, Morocco, South Korea, Japan and, diplomacy permitting, China, which despite being the epicenter of the epidemic, currently has a low number of infections, despite the outbreak recorded in Beijing.
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There is still some embarrassment regarding relations with the United States. A forthcoming meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee, one of the bodies of the Council of the European Union, is scheduled for Monday, when the draft developed by the Member States will be approved or not. Even according to sources cited by CNN, the US would not have been spared from the black listdespite assurances from American Vice President Mike Pence that America is in turn reopening “safely and responsibly”.
INTERNAL BORDERS
In the future it might once again it is necessary to close the internal borders of Europe for the coronavirus alert but this will no longer have to be done without a collective vote. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas explained this yesterday in an interview with the DPA. “It cannot be excluded that the borders must be closed again if the infections in one of the regions return to be significantly more widespread than in the others,” he said, underlining however that this time the decision must be the result of a choice coordinated by all governments of the countries that make up the EU.
Currently almost all borders within the Schengen area are open: the only exceptions are Norway and Finland which have announced the reopening in mid-July. “Europe has learned a lot from this crisis, not only through its weaknesses but also by virtue of its strengths,” he added. “We have strengthened our coordination and shown solidarity with each other.”
Last updated: 13:46
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