European officials strongly condemned Trump’s travel ban restricting travel from Europe to the U.S. and many see it as politically motivated, and a blow beyond the scope of previous disputes between Washington and Europe.
“The Coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action,” the statement read, co-signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.
“The European Union disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation.”
There appears to be little coordinating between the two sides in their response to the pandemic. The U.S. Mission to the European Union did not answer questions about how they were explaining restrictions to their European colleagues.
Europe woke to shock and markets plummeted, bringing Britain’s FTSE 100 index to its lowest level in eight years. France’s CAC 40 index fell by 10%, and Germany’s DAX index fell by 9%.
The details of the travel restrictions confused many, adding to the speculation that the ban was largely political.
The ban on flights covered only the Schengen area, the European Union’s border-free travel zone, a 26-nation region that does not include Britain or Ireland. The European Union has been a regular target for Trump’s irritation, and he has praised Britain for quitting the bloc. But there are more cases of coronavirus in Britain than in many of the countries covered by the ban.
This was at the Washington Post.