The EU is set to lift travel restrictions for US and Taiwanese residents as soon as this week, in the latest step toward a return to normal, despite concerns over the spread of potentially dangerous COVID-19 variants.
Portugal, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, proposed adding Taiwan, the US, Albania, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macau, the Republic of Northern Macedonia, Saudi Arabia and Serbia to a so-called “white list” of countries from which non-essential travel to the bloc is allowed, a diplomat familiar with the matter said.
Assuming no objections, EU government envoys in Brussels would today approve the expanded white list, the diplomat said, asking not to be named, in line with policy.
Photo: AP
The move would provide a boost for major EU airlines, such as Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa, which along with their US counterparts rely on the profitable trans-Atlantic corridors. Long-distance travel has been hit hard by restrictions brought on by the pandemic.
While some EU member states already allow vaccinated Americans to visit, inclusion in the white list means that restrictions would be lifted across the bloc. It also means that member states are free to allow quarantine-free travel from the US independently of vaccination status.
Despite the progress, trans-Atlantic travel would not be fully open until the US reciprocates and lifts a ban on most EU residents from entering the country.
The expansion of the EU’s white list of external countries, which already includes Japan, comes as internal travel within the bloc is being restored for those who are vaccinated or can prove that they have recently recovered from the virus.
As of July 1, holders of so-called digital COVID-19 certificates would be able to move freely anywhere in the EU’s 27 member states 14 days after the last shot.
The continued easing of pandemic-induced restrictions in the EU marks a stark contrast with Britain, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided to delay a full reopening for England due to a surge in infections with the delta variant of the coronavirus. The spike in infections, even as the UK has inoculated a larger share of its population than the EU, has alarmed some officials in Brussels.
European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides was yesterday to tell the bloc’s health ministers at a meeting that they need to fully inoculate as many people as possible as quickly as possible, in the face of mounting evidence that the protective shield of vaccines is weaker against the delta variant, especially for those who have not received both doses.
Kyriakides was to urge ministers to take the threat of more contagious variants seriously, an official familiar with the matter said.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
A bipartisan group of US representatives have introduced a draft US-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership bill, aimed at accelerating defense technology collaboration between Taiwan and the US in response to ongoing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The bill was introduced by US representatives Zach Nunn and Jill Tokuda, with US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar and US Representative Ashley Hinson joining as original cosponsors, a news release issued by Tokuda’s office on Thursday said. The draft bill “directs the US Department of Defense to work directly with Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense through their respective
Tsunami waves were possible in three areas of Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Services said yesterday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the nearby Kuril Islands. “The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in Hawaii said there was no tsunami warning after the quake. The Russian tsunami alert was later canceled. Overnight, the Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka erupted for the first time in 600 years, Russia’s RIA
RSS