EU reviewing final list of countries to open borders

The Council of the European Union has not yet approved the final list of countries that will open borders on July 1. Adalbert Jahnz, a spokesman for the European Commission, told a briefing in Brussels today.

"The EU Council member states are continuing discussions. We look forward to the outcome, but we have nothing more to say at this stage. I do not want to speculate on this issue until the discussion is completed," he said.

Jahnz stressed that if the list cannot be agreed upon, the EU Council will have to decide on further steps.

According to preliminary information, the number of countries on the list declined from 18 to 15 during the discussions over the weekend. The final version includes Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Rwanda, Serbia, Montenegro, Georgia, and Uruguay.

Intense debates in the EU Council continue around China, which meets all sanitary standards but not ready to open borders with the EU.