LONDON _ After Europe awoke Thursday to news of President Donald Trump's decision to restrict travel between much of the continent and the United States, its leaders expressed indignation and bafflement over a move they said would do little to impact the spread of the coronavirus.
Trump came under sharp criticism for what European allies said was failure to consult with them prior to his announcement in an Oval Office address on Wednesday night, in which he initially announced that all European travel and movement of cargo would be halted _ though that statement was quickly walked back.
U.S. officials said the restrictions would apply not to U.S. citizens and their immediate family members, but to most foreign citizens who had been in Europe's passport-free travel zone _ the so-called Schengen Area _ at any point in 14 days before travel to the United States. And they clarified it would apply to people, not goods.
Even in its diluted form, the U.S. position appeared to be another instance of Trump catching allies unaware with a major policy decision.
"The European Union disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation," European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement Thursday.
The statement noted that the spread of coronavirus "is a global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action." And it took exception to Trump's characterization of a lax European response, saying the EU is "taking strong action to limit the spread of the virus."
Some former diplomats and analysts suggested that the president's announcement was primarily political in nature _ an attempt to blame others rather than putting the focus on how the U.S administration intended to combat the threat.
"Trump needed a narrative to exonerate his administration from any responsibility in the crisis," Gerard Araud, a former French ambassador to the United States, wrote on Twitter. "The foreigner is always a good scapegoat."
As European markets plunged in the wake of the president's address, some prominent Europe-watchers noted that Trump, who frequently denigrates the European Union, appeared to be taking aim at the bloc, although the restrictions do not precisely overlap with membership in the bloc.
"This is not about containment, this is about sending a political message," Benjamin Haddad, director of the Future Europe Initiative at the Atlantic Council, wrote on Twitter. "In a time when the EU is challenged to its core, the U.S. is closing its borders and turning its back on allies."
Even some of the president's former aides have been publicly critical of his move, calling it a distraction and a misdirection of resources.
"There's little value to European travel restrictions," Trump's former homeland security advisor Tom Bossert wrote on Twitter, calling the White House-announced measures "poor use of time & energy."
Like others, Bossert said such measures might have had an impact early in what the World Health Organization has designated a pandemic, but will have limited impact because the virus is already spreading within the United States.
Although several European countries fall outside the travel measures, Trump specifically stressed that the restrictions would not include Britain, which has formally withdrawn from the EU but remains subject to its rules and procedures during a transition period this year.
Trump has been an enthusiastic backer of Brexit, Britain's exit from the bloc. He is also an ally of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, although the president's unpopularity in Britain sometimes causes Johnson to seek distance from Trump's pronouncements.
After Trump's drawing of a sharp distinction between Britain and other European nations, commentators quickly pointed to the fact that Trump owns three golf resorts in Britain and Ireland.
Coronavirus aside, this is a precarious time for Britain. It officially left the European Union on Jan. 31 and is seeking to negotiate a favorable new trade deal with the EU, but also strike new deals globally _ and the U.S. is at the top of that list.
At the same time, Britain wants to support its closest European neighbors as they tackle the pandemic, especially given that the EU is Britain's largest trading partner.
The chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said in a BBC radio interview that the British government was "always guided by the science as we make our decisions here."
"There isn't evidence that interventions like closing borders or travel bans are going to have a material effect on the spread of the infection," he said.
The Schengen Area, to which the U.S. restrictions apply, is made up of 26 countries including EU members France, Italy, German, Greece, Austria and Belgium, where the bloc has its headquarters. But it also encompasses some non-EU countries including Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.
Bruno Bonnell, a member of the French parliament and a businessman, blasted the Trump decision as illogical.
"If the situation was not that bad, I would consider it as almost a joke," Bonnell said, calling "absolutely ridiculous" the notion that the restrictions would halt the spread of the virus. In an interview on the BBC's "Today," he also pointed out that with exit and entry points left in Britain or elsewhere, anyone wanting to could simply make use of those.
"If I want to go to the U.S. tomorrow, what should I do?" he said. "I'm going to take a train or flight to the United Kingdom, and then take a flight to New York."
