EU makes plans to reopen non-essential travel

The European Commission (EC) has set out a framework for the resumption of non-essential travel to and from the union, with further talks scheduled for this week. It proposes to allow entry to the EU for non-essential purposes to those who have received the last recommended dose of an EU-approved Covid-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to travel, or are travelling from a country with a ‘good epidemiological situation’.

Additionally, the commission said that if member states decide to waive inbound PCR test and/or quarantine requirements for vaccinated intra-EU travellers, they should do this too for vaccinated travellers arriving from outside the EU. This, it said, could be achieved through the union’s plans for its digital green certificate, which will allow people to verify their Covid status.

Covid variants would put stop to travel

TheEC said it also recognised the emergence of coronavirus variants of concern and called for ‘continued vigilance’. It has proposed a new EU-wide ‘emergency brake' mechanism, which would allow member states to act quickly and temporarily limit to a strict minimum all travel from affected countries for the time needed to put in place appropriate sanitary measures.

Prior to roll out of the certificate, the commission said member states should accept certificates from non-EU countries on a bilateral basis or consider setting up a portal allowing travellers to ask for recognition of a vaccination certificate.

A recent announcement from the European Commission has confirmed that the proposed ‘Digital Green Certificates’ for facilitating international travel are to only be used within the EU at first.