BRUSSELS (AP) — In an announcement sure to be welcomed by travelers worldwide, EU officials on Monday proposed easing restrictions on visiting the 27-nation bloc as vaccination campaigns across the continent gather speed.
Travel to the European Union is currently extremely limited except for a handful of nations with low infection rates. But with the summer tourist season looming, the bloc’s European Commission hopes the new recommendations will dramatically expand that list.
The Commission hopes the move will soon allow travelers to reunite with their associates and relatives living in Europe and support the bloc’s economy this summer.
“Time to revive EU tourism industry and for cross-border friendships to rekindle — safely,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned. “We propose to welcome again vaccinated visitors and those from nations with a good health situation.”
Under the Commission’s proposal, the entry would be granted to all those fully vaccinated with EU-authorized shots. Coronavirus vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency, the bloc’s drug regulator, include Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson. The EMA has not approved any vaccines from Russia or China as of but is knowledgeable data for Russia’s Sputnik V jab.
EU nations could also individually decide to accept travelers immunized with vaccines listed by WHO for emergency use. The U.N. health agency has approved the same 4 vaccines as the EMA and is expected to make a ruling soon on China’s Sinopharm vaccine.
EU officials believe the bloc’s COVID-19 vaccination campaigns will soon be “a game changer” in the battle against the deadly virus. Its proposal will be mentioned with EU ambassadors this week and the Commission hopes it could begin by June, once it’s adopted by member states. Still, the recommendation is non-binding and EU nations will be entitled to keep travel restrictions in place if they want.
Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz mentioned fully vaccinated travelers coming from outside the EU should be allowed to visit Europe but insisted that the proposal’s goal is not to exempt them from testing or quarantines upon arrival.
“This still remains very much in the hands of the member states,” he mentioned.
The Commission also proposed raising the threshold of new COVID-19 cases that is used to determine the nations from which all travel should be permitted.
“Nonessential travel regardless of individual vaccination status is currently permitted from seven nations with a good epidemiological situation,” it mentioned, proposing to increase the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants from 25 to 100.
“This remains considerably under the current EU average, which is over 420,” it mentioned.
It was unclear which nations would actually make the cut but an EU official who was not approved to be quoted by name because the proposal has yet to be adopted mentioned Israel would definitely be on the list.
“The UK, question mark, the U.S., for the time being, not quite,” he mentioned. “But we see how quickly the situation within the U.S. is evolving, notably for the rate of vaccination.”
In case the infection situation deteriorates in a non-EU nation, the Commission proposed an “emergency brake” to stop dangerous virus variants from entering the bloc through quickly enacted travel limits.
EU officials and nations are also talking about introducing COVID-19 certificates aimed at facilitating travel across the region this summer. The documents, sometimes called coronavirus passports or green certificates, would be given to EU residents who can show they have been vaccinated, can provide a negative coronavirus test, or prove they have recovered from COVID-19.
“Till the digital green certificate are operational, member states should be able to accept certificates from non-EU nations,” the Fee mentioned, adding that unvaccinated kid should be able of travel with their vaccinated parents if they provide an negative PCR test.
Greece, which is heavily reliant on tourism, has already lifted quarantine restrictions for the U.S., Britain, Israel, and other non-EU nations. On Saturday, Hungary loosened several COVID-19 restrictions for residents with government-issued immunity cards, given to those who have had one vaccine dose or recovered from COVID-19.
Individuals with plastic cards could enter indoor dining rooms, hotels, theaters, cinemas, spas, gyms, libraries, museums, and other recreational venues in Hungary.
The whole situation of COVID-19 passports is fraught in many parts of the world, with critics saying they discriminate against individuals in poorer nations or younger people who do not have access to vaccines in lots of nations. The Hungarian government moved ahead with its own certificates because it has been inoculating individuals with a variety of vaccines, including jabs from China and Russia that have not been approved by the EMA.
