Ukraine, Singapore denied non-essential travel to EU

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - The European Union on Tuesday removed Ukraine and Singapore from its list allowing non-essential travel to the bloc as it revised rules for traveling during the pandemic.

Under the new rules valid as of Tuesday, residents from Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Jordan, Kuwait, Namibia, New Zealand, Peru, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay can travel to the EU for non-essential purposes.

The same applies to Chinese citizens, in case Beijing grants the same rights to EU citizens.

The travel list grants access to 27 EU states and non-EU members of the Schengen zone (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland).

However, EU governments are allowed to disregard the recommendations and allow visitors from other countries, as well as restrict the entry of those on the list if they are not fully vaccinated.

The bloc imposed travel restrictions last March in order to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.