EU borders may not open for Russians from July 1. According to The New York Times, Brussels will recommend EU member states to open borders for third-countries only in the situation when covid infection in these non-European states is comparable to or close to the level currently existing in Europe.
The recommended list will be formed on the basis of the methodology of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). In this case, travelers from the United States and Mexico, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan will not be included in the list. But the list may include China, Vietnam, Uganda, Egypt and Turkey.
According to the EU epidemiological criteria, a country is not at risk if 16-20 new cases of infection are recorded within 14 days per 100 000 people. For comparison, in the United States this is approximately 107 cases, in Russia - about 80 new infections.
EU countries, focused on the reception of Russian tourists, advocate for opening borders for Russians. For example, Greece and Cyprus are on such position. Earlier, Italy announced its readiness to receive citizens of the Russian Federation.
The fact of opening the borders of the Russian Federation is very important for Russian tourists. Currently, the Aeroflot schedule is a guideline: the national carrier plans to restart international flights from August 1.
For many tourists in Russia, a visa issue is also important: not everyone has a valid Schengen. So far, only Greece has announced the resumption of accepting documents for visas.
According to experts, visa-free Turkey for citizens of the Russian Federation can play a big role in opening the borders of EU members. “If Turkey succeeds in resuming flights with Russia from July 15, this could accelerate the opening of tourist corridors with Russia in Greece, Italy and Cyprus,” experts say.
