EU Lifts Ban On American Travelers - NPR

On Friday, European Union added the United States to the list of countries whose citizens and residents should be allowed to travel freely within the bloc.

On Friday, European Union added the United States to the list of countries whose citizens and residents should be allowed to travel freely within the bloc.

Americans are now able to visit the European Union again, vaccinated or not.

The European Council has updated its list of countries whose citizens and residents should be allowed to travel freely to the bloc's 27 member nations, and the United States is finally on it.

And while the European Commission, the EU executive branch, emphatically urges countries to coordinate such rules with their neighbors to ensure mobility, that plea has often fallen on deaf administrative ears.

European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz explained, "It goes without saying that we would expect the same from partner countries outside the EU for EU citizens traveling to those countries.".

Eduardo Santander, executive director for the European Travel Commission, the umbrella organization for tourism agencies across the continent, is also optimistic, but said important questions remain

"It's probably a couple of weeks until there is certainty about all the little things a traveler has to take into account before coming to Europe, and in particular, the issue of mobility within the European Union" if governments don't coordinate border regulations