The paper is divided into seven parts. The first part provides a brief overview on the limitations of the EU travel bans on the Schengen area on the one hand, while further hardening the restrictions for the citizens of the Western Balkans on the other hand. The second part mentions the current research’s stand on travel restrictions, which are likely to slow down the spread of Covid-19 in a marginal way only, with countries in Europe and worldwide ignoring the  suggestion of having their borders open, with high costs for the global economy. The third part pin points that the EU first measures regulating the entry conditions for third-country nationals from the Western Balkans have not translated into an EU common approach, by setting the    basis for double standards. The fourth part portrays a continuous lack of an EU coordinated stand following the rise of infections and the risks posed by the more transmissible variants of the virus, within and outside the EU, at the beginning of 2021. The fifth part lists the EU measures to     ease travel restrictions with the EU having left mistakenly the Western Balkans out of the box, while leaving a negative message for the region’s concrete European perspective. The sixth part refers to the EU measures, other than travel bans, aimed at easing travel to the EU with a particular focus on the Western Balkans. The seventh part deals with the socio-economic impacts deriving from the EU travel-bans on the hand, and Covid-19 in general terms on the other hand. The paper ends with key policy recommendations for the European Commission.