Member States' Ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) will continue their work on Wednesday 24 June in drawing up an initial European list of non-Member States that have successfully controlled the Covid-19 pandemic and whose citizens will be allowed to enter the EU as of 1 July (see EUROPE 12504/1).
After a series of technical meetings, Member States made progress on Monday 22 June regarding the criteria for selecting non-Member States. If the aim is still to arrive at an initial list this week, it may take another Coreper meeting to finalise it and meet the 1 July deadline.
According to one source, the work completed to date has made it possible to refine the criteria being used, particularly epidemiological criteria, which will be cross-referenced with available data. The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) was due to present a list of countries who meet the criteria on Tuesday 23 June.
The European Commission had set a threshold of no more than 100 coronavirus infections per 100,000 inhabitants and had asked for an analysis of the status of 'barrier' measures in place in the non-Member States in question.
This initial European list should remain limited, but it can be updated as the pandemic evolves on the ground.
Reciprocity. The principle of reciprocity will also be taken into account. It could be applied “dynamically” and possibly used as a positive lever.
The EU could thereby indicate to certain non-Member States who are closed to Europeans at this stage, that it could nevertheless open up to them, even partially, in exchange for changes being made in their countries. Our source would not confirm whether this would be relevant to the United States.
Acting US Ambassador to the EU, Ronald J. Gidwitz, told EUROPE on Monday that he did not expect the EU to include his country on the initial European list. (see EUROPE 12511/2). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)