EU leaders slam US for imposing unilateral travel ban

BRUSSELS • European Union leaders yesterday rebuked the United States for imposing a unilateral travel ban on arrivals from countries in the Schengen passport-free zone without consulting them.

"The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent, and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action," EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel said.

"The European Union disapproves of the fact that the US decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation," they said in a statement.

"The European Union is taking strong action to limit the spread of the virus," they insisted.

The Schengen zone includes most EU member states along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland - but not Britain, Ireland, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria or Cyprus.

US President Donald Trump said the ban on travellers from the zone would come into effect at midnight today, and would not affect US citizens returning from Europe.

The World Health Organisation describes the coronavirus outbreak as a "controllable pandemic" and European countries - working with the EU - are scrambling to coordinate a response.

But the 27 EU members are not all suffering to the same degree and their responses have differed, with some imposing or advising draconian lockdowns and others caution.

Every country in the EU has now recorded at least one coronavirus case and the continent as a whole has over 22,900 cases, most notably Italy with over 12,400 cases and over 820 fatalities.

Meanwhile, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said governments should roll back or refrain from using travel restrictions as the coronavirus is mainly being spread through local transmission rather than imported cases.

"Given that the Covid-19 outbreak is now progressing across the globe, it is time for a fundamental rethink on travel restrictions," AAPA's director-general Andrew Herdman said in a statement. "The proliferation of travel restrictions worldwide, and insufficient adherence to the IHR (International Health Regulations) are imposing enormous costs on society with little or no public health benefits," he added.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG