EU LOOKS TO OPEN BORDERS AFTER A YEAR OF PANDEMIC ISOLATION
New system for non-essential travel could be in place by June
The European Union aims to take a significant step toward a return to normalcy with plans to reopen its borders after months of pandemic-induced restrictions.
Just in time for the summer travel season, Spanish, Italian and Greek beaches along with cities like Paris, Rome and Berlin would be able to welcome travellers who have been fully inoculated against Covid-19, under a proposal by the European Commission.
It’s “time to revive the EU tourism industry and for cross-border friendships to rekindle — safely,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter. While still battling a third wave, Europe is showing signs of gaining control of the disease, which has infected more than 30 million in the region. Lockdowns in several countries are being loosened as contagion rates ebb and inoculations ramp up. The EU’S executive arm recommended welcoming visitors from countries with relatively low infection rates as well as those who are fully vaccinated, according to a statement. The proposals require approval from a weighted majority of the bloc’s 27 member states and could be adopted as soon as the end of May, according to a commission official.
The new parameters would replace a blanket ban for non-essential travel to the EU for residents of all but a handful of countries. The rules have been in place for more than a year and represented a bitter blow for a region that prides itself on open borders. Under the proposal, member states would be obliged to accept proof for all shots approved in the EU — including those produced by Pfizerbiontech, Astrazeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
National governments will have the discretion to accept shots that have cleared the WHO emergency use listing process, but they can’t recognise other
vaccines on their own. This means people inoculated with Russia’s Sputnik or the Sinopharm and Sinovac shots from China will not be allowed to travel freely to the EU solely based of their immunisation status.