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The European Council amended the list of recommended non-EU countries with which travel can resume as of August 30, the Council said in an update published on Tuesday. According to it, the European Union recommended that the US, along with four other countries, be removed from its list of countries exempt from restrictions on non-essential travel. "Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia and the United States of America were removed from the list," a statement from the European Council said.

For a country to be deemed safe, there should be no more than 75 new cases per 100,000 people within a 14-day period according to the European Council's current criteria. The safe travel list is reviewed every second week on a case-by-case basis. 

Based on the criteria and conditions set out in the recommendation, as from 30 August 2021, member states should gradually lift the travel restrictions at the external borders for residents of the following third countries: Albania. Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Japan,, Jordan, New Zealand, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Ukraine, China.