The EU disapproves of the fact that Washington’s decision to impose that prohibition was made unilaterally and without consultations, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint communiqué.
On Wednesday, Trump announced the 30-day ban on all travels from Europe, with the exception of flights from the United Kingdom, where 460 cases have been confirmed, and Ireland, which is not part of the Schengen zone.
Later, the National Security Agency made it clear that the measure would be enforced to most foreign citizens who had visited the Schengen zone 14 days prior to their arrival in the United States.
The new coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent and requires cooperation, instead of unilateral actions, Michel and von der Leyen pointed out.
They also rejected Trump’s insinuations that Europe is not doing enough to fight the outbreak, and noted that the 27-country bloc is taking strong measures to limit the spreading of the virus.
According to the latest statistics from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, more than 17,000 COVID-19 cases have been detected in the continent, and more than 700 persons have died of the disease.
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