Unjabbed Britons left facing EU travel ban

uNJABBED British travellers could be banned from Europe under a new travel blueprint to curb the continent’s rocketing Covid infections.

officials at the European Commission are looking at a range of suggestions although one senior diplomat said restricting nonessential travel for unvaccinated non-Eu nationals, such as those from Britain and the uS, ‘is definitely an option’ being considered by Brussels.

‘We will progressively move towards an approach on whether you are jabbed or not,’ the diplomat said. ‘Relying just on testing isn’t really working.’

But there is concern that any form of blanket ban could discriminate against poorer nations that are trailing on vaccine rollout.

Eu governments can simply choose to ignore the commission’s advice on travel rules if they wish.

however, the mood across Europe has shifted since the summer as healthcare systems become overwhelmed with new Covid cases.

Earlier this year, many holiday hotspots allowed Britons who were not fully vacci

‘Relying on testing isn’t really working’

nated to travel with a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours.

France’s hardline approach currently forces unvaccinated British travellers to produce a negative test result from the previous 24 hours.

But even Greece, a popular tourist destination, is now moving to ban the unjabbed from public life. Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Slovakia have made similar moves.

two senior diplomats said ministers had discussed possible curbs on unvaccinated travellers from outside the Eu at a closeddoors meeting on Monday.

they also want to overhaul the bloc’s vaccine passport rules to agree on common goals on jab expiry dates and booster doses. Double vaccination is likely to become invalid after one year, with the new proposals requiring a third dose to travel hasslefree applying at to the over-65s the least.

Meanwhile, Germany yesterday became the latest country to pass the milestone of 100,000 deaths from Covid-19 since the pandemic began. It is the fifth to pass that mark in Europe after Russia, the uK, Italy and France.