The European Union is preparing to reopen its external border to 15 countries outside of the bloc as early as this week, or sometime in July.
The EU has also published a list of countries that will be permitted entry once borders re-open. Thailand made the cut, since we haven’t reported a single local case of Coronavirus in over 30 days, the US however, did not.
The other countries are: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Tunisia, Uruguay. China will also be permitted on the condition that it offers reciprocal arrangements in return.
Interestingly, Asian countries like Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam have been left out the list for now. This is surprising as they have had success in containing the virus outbreak.
Border control is ultimately decided by each member state rather than at an EU level in Brussels. The EU officials hope that having the recommendations in place means the member states will reopen their borders in lockstep.
Does this mean Thais can travel to Europe in time for the summer? Is it too early to bring out the Rimowa suitcases? If you ask us, the prospect of taking an overseas trip is still shaky at best.
