By Muna Al-Fuzai
European Union (EU) has presented a list of 54 countries whose citizens will be allowed to enter Schengen states. But Gulf countries are not on the roster. This raised many inquiries and came as a surprise. I think this decision will have a negative effect on some people, but not everyone.
I guess property owners, investors and those who need medical support will not be permitted to enter the EU. Also, some Gulf people used to spend their summer holidays in Schengen countries, but the world of tourism today has massive alternatives other than the countries of the European Union.
There are many countries outside the European Union that will benefit from this decision to refresh their economies and would be glad to receive tourists from here.
I wonder about the criteria of the EU which led to this resolution. The European Union has many of its citizens in Gulf countries, so if we are infected according to the decision to the extent that they refuse to receive our citizens, how about their people here - are they safe?
How about citizens of European Union countries here who would like to visit their families this summer? I wonder if Kuwait will have commercial flights to places that are not welcoming its citizens. These are just thoughts and questions that need a clear answer.
I fully know that the people of the GCC are good investors and excellent consumers and they don't use tourist visas to overstay and violate the laws, because they want to return to their countries at the end of their vacations. Their states usually take good care of them at all times. In response to this report, a Kuwaiti official at the ministry of foreign affairs stated that reciprocity is an appropriate option to apply if Kuwait is not included in the list, especially since a number of countries did not set conditions or prohibitions for Kuwaitis to enter their territories.
Moreover, Kuwait did not close its airport to any country except when the closure was declared due to the coronavirus crisis. This is a valid opinion, I agree. He added that Kuwait did not choose certain countries or make lists of countries, expressing his surprise at the issuance of the decision by the European Union to open up to many countries but excluding Kuwait.
A spokesperson for the European Union Commission stated that the decisions of the European Union are based on health standards. I am personally conservative about the epidemiological situation of countries. I believe this issue is as political as it is health-related, because the absence of transparency in many countries may result in not providing accurate figures and facts about the extent of the virus and its severity.
In Kuwait, we have a lot of transparency in showing the health situation frankly, but what about other countries? This issue can easily be overcome by requiring Gulf travelers and others to perform a COVID-19 test 48 hours prior to their travel date. I also wonder if this prohibition applies to expats here in the Gulf. I had a chat with a lady from this region who usually goes to the EU for her long summer holiday. She thinks that traveling this summer may not be safe, but added there are many countries that will be happy to receive Gulf tourists. She is right.
muna@kuwaittimes.net