Coronavirus: EU presidents attack Trump’s travel ban and say ‘cooperation’ needed to defeat pandemic

Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel say the EU disapproves of ‘unilateral’ action

The European Union’s two presidents have criticised Donald Trump’​s decision to impose a travel ban on European citizens, warning that coronavirus pandemic “requires cooperation” to defeat.

In a joint statement Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel said the policy had been imposed by the US “without consultation” and suggested it could be counterproductive.

“The Coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action,” they said.

“The European Union disapproves of the fact that the US decision to improve a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation.”

They added that the bloc was “taking strong action to limit the spread of the virus”.

Mr Trump says the US will for 30 days deny entry to non-Americans who travelled in the EU’s 26-country Schengen Area in the last 14 days. Announcing the plan overnight, Mr Trump described the policy as a suspension of “all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days”.

The move is a drastic reversal of policy for the president, who has been accused of taking the pandemic too lightly, with an election looming in the autumn.

Just 72 hours before unveiling the U-turn Mr Trump downplayed the severity of the virus, comparing it favourably to “the common flu” and adding: “Nothing is shut down, life and the economy go on.”

He had also said opposition Democrats’ criticism of his handling of the virus was “a new hoax” and that they were “rooting for” the virus.

39 US states have now reported coronavirus cases, with close to 1,000 cases causing 29 total deaths. This compared to the UK’s 460 cases and eight deaths.

Donald Trump announced the ban overnight while most of Europe slept (EPA)

Within the EU, various member states have imposed travel restrictions on each other – notably against Italy, the continent’s outbreak hot-spot.

Asked about restrictions, a spokesperson for the European Commission said: “In a situation like the one we are in public authorities are obviously stepping in and taking measures that they consider as appropriate. What we are saying is this this is a global crisis that effects everyone, not one particular country, not one particular continent. The issue is to make sure that the measures we are taking are taken in good consultation, in good cooperation, in order to ensure their effectiveness. That is what this is all about.”

On the subject of Mr Trump’s travel ban, he added: “I think that European citizens expect of their public authorities of all levels that they deal with the issues that concern them most – their health, wellbeing, and also the management of the economic fallout of the crisis.

“That is what we are entirely geared towards and this is what we are focusing our comment on. We are not here to carry out a running commentary on the statements made by one or another party.

“Quite honestly, the president of the Commission, her college, and her services have got lots of actions to implement, lots of measures to undertake, and that is what they are focusing their attention on.

“We have now clearly said that such a measure as the US travel ban should not have been undertaken unilaterally, that prior consultation would have been good. That statement is now out there, it reflects our position on this and we will go no further than that.”