EU chiefs slam US travel ban for 26 European countries to stem virus outbreak
Council, European Commission presidents insist coronavirus pandemic is a ‘global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action’
The European Union on Thursday slammed the new anti-virus travel ban announced by US President Donald Trump, lashing out at the “unilateral” decision.
In a joint statement, EU Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen insisted that the coronavirus pandemic is a “global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action.”
“The European Union disapproves of the fact that the US decision to improve a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation,” they said.
Given Italy’s nationwide travel lockdown and other measures taken by all the bloc’s 27 members, Von der Leyen and Michel dismissed Trump’s suggestion that the EU has not done enough in fighting the disease.
They said the EU “is taking strong action to limit the spread of the virus.”
Taking dramatic action Wednesday, Trump announced he was sharply restricting passenger travel from 26 European nations to the US and moving to ease the economic cost of a viral pandemic that is roiling global financial markets and disrupting the daily lives of Americans.
Trump made the announcement during a rare Oval Office address to the nation that he was suspending all travel from Europe to the US for 30 days beginning at 11:59 p.m. Friday. After days of playing down the threat, he blamed Europe for not acting quickly enough to address the novel coronavirus and claimed that US clusters were “seeded” by European travelers.
“We made a lifesaving move with early action on China,” Trump said. “Now we must take the same action with Europe.”
Trump said the restrictions won’t apply to the United Kingdom, and there would be exemptions for “Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings.” It also wouldn’t apply to cargo. He said the US would monitor the situation to determine if travel could be reopened earlier.
Homeland Security officials later clarified that the new travel restrictions would only apply to most foreign nationals who have been in the “Schengen Area” at any point for 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival to the United States. The area includes Italy, German, Greece, Austria, Belgium and others. It doesn’t apply to legal permanent residents, immediate family of US citizens or others “identified in the proclamation.”
The Oval Office address was an abrupt shift in tone from a president who has repeatedly sought to downplay the virus.
After Trump’s address, Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced a series of moves, including restrictions for 60 days on travel by servicemembers, Defense Department civilians and their families to, from and through the four countries currently designated by the Centers for Disease Control as the highest risk COVID-19 counties — China, Iran, South Korea and Italy. Esper said the restrictions include all forms of travel, including for what the military calls permanent change of station, in which a servicemember and his family move to a different home base or station.
Trump spoke after days of confusion in Washington amid mounting calls on the president to demonstrate greater leadership. In the hours leading up to his remarks, White House aides struggled to determine what action the president could take unilaterally and what required congressional action, as Trump personally weighed the public and political reactions to the options before him.
In his remarks, Trump focused more on the threat of travel continuing to bring in illness when, in fact, in parts of the country there is “community spread” — meaning people who don’t have a known travel exposure are becoming infected. He left unaddressed testing, the backlog that is hampering efforts to learn just how many Americans already are infected. And while he warned the elderly to avoid risky crowds, advised nursing homes to suspend visitors and told sick people to stay home from work, he didn’t address one of the biggest concerns — whether hospitals are equipped to handle the sick or will be overwhelmed.
