The European Council said on Thursday it has removed Jordan and Namibia from the list of countries for which COVID-19 travel restrictions should be lifted by member states.
"Following a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries ... for which travel restrictions should be lifted. In particular, Jordan and Namibia were removed from the list," the press release said.
As of now, the list includes 18 countries for which EU member states are recommended to gradually ease travel restrictions, such as Australia, Canada, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, China and South Korea. China's special administrative regions, namely Hong Kong and Macao, are also listed.
The review is conducted by the Council on a regular basis to reflect epidemiological developments in the countries and respond promptly to the volatile COVID-19 situation. The review considers the principle of reciprocity, among other criteria, and China's listing is marked as "subject to confirmation of reciprocity."
The Council introduced the list of countries whose residents should be granted unrestricted entry to the EU for non-essential travel in June 2020. Since then, the list has been updated every two weeks. The recommendation is not obligatory for EU member states. (ANI/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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