EU likely to bar American travelers as it reopens its borders

As the European Union sets guidelines for reopening borders to visitors from non-European countries, there's one conspicuous absence from the list: the United States. Due to the US' poor coronavirus response, and the continued surge of cases, the country is joining the ranks of Russia and Brazil on the EU's blacklist, according to draft lists obtained by The New York Times.

Although travelers from pretty much everywhere have been barred from visiting Europe since March, external borders are expected to reopen on July 1, allowing tourists to visit once again.

Countries that did make the EU draft lists have been designated as safe based on a series of epidemiological criteria, including average number of new infections. The EU's average number of new infections is 16 per 100,000 people, while the US has 107 new infections per 100,000.

While the EU can't force member countries to abide by the list - Portugal and Greece have notably already reopened their borders to US citizens - officials warn that failure to do so could lead to the reintroduction of borders within the union. This would be an attempt to prevent visitors from unapproved nations from traveling unchecked throughout Europe.

The official list is set to be finalized and released before July 1.