Council of the European Union updates the list of countries to which the travel restrictions should be gradually lifted - the list still includes Georgia

"Following the first 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. This list will continue to be reviewed and, as the case may be, updated every two weeks", - reads the statement.

According to the Council's decision, the following countries are included in the list: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay, China (subject to confirmation of reciprocity).

The previous version of the list also included Moldova and Serbia.

"The criteria to determine the third countries for which the current travel restriction should be lifted cover in particular the epidemiological situation and containment measures, including physical distancing, as well as economic and social considerations. They are applied cumulatively. Regarding the epidemiological situation, third countries listed should meet the following criteria, in particular: number of new COVID-19 cases over the last 14 days and per 100 000 inhabitants close to or below the EU average (as it stood on 15 June 2020); stable or decreasing trend of new cases over this period in comparison to the previous 14 days; overall response to COVID-19 taking into account available information, including on aspects such as testing, surveillance, contact tracing, containment, treatment and reporting, as well as the reliability of the information and, if needed, the total average score for International Health Regulations (IHR). Information provided by EU delegations on these aspects should also be taken into account. Reciprocity should also be taken into account regularly and on a case-by-case basis", - reads the stament.