EU takes step toward letting in COVID-19 vaccinated visitors, including Americans
BRUSSELS — The European Union on Wednesday took a step toward relaxing tourism travel for visitors from outside the bloc, with EU ambassadors agreeing on measures to allow in visitors who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
They also agreed on easing the criteria for a nation to be considered a safe country from which all tourists, inoculated or not, can come. Currently, that list comprises only seven nations.
The EU imposed strict measures last year to contain coronavirus outbreaks, but the bloc’s 27 ambassadors now say many of those restrictions on nonessential travel should be eased. Specifically, they say tourists from outside the bloc who have been fully vaccinated should be allowed in.
The EU Council “will now recommend that member states ease some of the current restrictions” for those who have been vaccinated, said EU Commission spokesman Christian Wigand. He didn’t give a precise date for when the borders would reopen because EU countries have yet to formally approve the measures.
“The council should also soon expand the list of non-EU countries with a good epidemiological situation from where travel is permitted,” said Wigand. The EU’s European Center for Disease Prevention and Control is to give advice on the list.
However, individual EU member nations will continue to have discretion over whether to require proof of a negative coronavirus test, a quarantine period after arrival and other control measures.
The European Union’s executive body has proposed ‘green certificates’ that would allow residents to travel freely across the 27-nation bloc by summer.
The relaxation of rules was proposed earlier this month by the European Commission, which said entry should be granted to all those fully vaccinated with EU-authorized shots. COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency, the bloc’s drug regulator, include those by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The EMA hasn’t approved any vaccines from Russia or China as of yet but is looking at data on Russia’s Sputnik V jab.
Wigand said ambassadors also agreed on an “emergency brake” mechanism designed to stop dangerous coronavirus variants from entering the 27-nation bloc through quickly enacted travel limits if the infection situation deteriorates in a non-EU country.
EU nations have been struggling throughout the pandemic to prop up their vital tourism industry and hope to recover some income over the peak summer season.
Greece, which is heavily reliant on tourism, has already lifted quarantine restrictions for visitors from the U.S., Britain, Israel and other non-EU countries as negotiations continue between governments and EU lawmakers over COVID-19 certificates for facilitating travel across the region. A deal is required by the end of the month to ensure that the system will be up and running by the end of June.
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