Almost 15 months after Europe effectively closed its borders to the outside world in its efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, the European Commission has proposed that the 27-member-bloc ease its current restrictions on non-essential travel while taking into account the progress of vaccination campaigns and developments in the epidemiological worldwide situation.
“It’s time to revive European Union’s tourism industry and for cross-border friendships to rekindle – safely,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in a tweet. “We propose to welcome again vaccinated visitors and those from countries with a good health situation. But if variants emerge we have to act fast; we propose an EU emergency brake mechanism,” she warned.
The Commission said it was pushing for the resumption of non-essential travel, not only for all those coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation, but for anyone who has received the last recommended dose of an EU-authorized vaccine and added that this could be extended to vaccines that have completed the WHO emergency-use listing process.
Brussels said it has also proposed to raise, in line with the evolution of the epidemiological situation in the EU, the threshold related to the number of new COVID-19 cases used to determine a list of countries from which all travel should be permitted. This move would allow the European Council to expand its list of so-called ‘safe countries.
Concerned by the outbreak of coronavirus variants, the Commission has also proposed a new ‘emergency brake’ mechanism, which would be coordinated at the EU level, and would limit the risk of such variants from entering the EU. This will allow each of the EU’s members to act quickly and temporarily limit all travel from affected countries for the time needed to put in place appropriate sanitary measures.
Non-essential travel for vaccinated travellers
The most significant part of Brussels’ announcement was that it has recommended to the individual EU members that they lift restrictions on non-essential travel for individuals who have already been vaccinated. The decision stems from the latest scientific advice which has found that vaccination helps to considerably break the transmission chain.
Each country should allow travel into the EU of those people who have received, at least 14 days before arrival, the last recommended dose of a vaccine. The individual health officials of each country are able to extend this to those vaccinated with a vaccine having completed the WHO emergency-use listing process. In addition, if one country decides to waive the vaccine requirements in exchange for a negative PCR test and/or quarantine, they should also waive the same requirements for vacccinated travelers from outside the EU.
This should be facilitated once the Digital Green Certificate – the controversial ‘vaccine passport’ – becomes operational, in line with rules the Commission proposed on March 17. Travelers should be able to prove their vaccination status with a Digital Green Certificate issued by the health authorities of an EU country on an individual basis, or with another certificate that is recognized as an equivalent by the Commission.
Until the Digital Green Certificate is operational, the countries that make up the bloc should be able to accept certificates from non-EU countries based on each country’s national laws. They must, however, have the ability to verify the authenticity, validity and integrity of the certificate and whether it contains all relevant data.
If implemented correctly, portals from each country could be brought online, which would allow travelers to verify details about vaccination certificates issued by non-EU countries and how to acquire a Digital Green Certificate.
Children who are excluded from vaccination should be able to travel with their vaccinated parents if they have a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before their arrival. In these cases, each country could require additional testing after their arrival.
Non-essential travel, regardless of individual vaccination status, is currently permitted from only seven countries with a good epidemiological situation. This list is decided by the Council on the basis of the epidemiological criteria contained in the current recommendation.
The Commission wants to amend the criteria to take into account the mounting evidence of the positive impact of vaccination campaigns. The proposal is to increase the threshold of 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate from 25 to 100; numbers that are considerably below the current EU average, which is over 420.
The adapted threshold should allow the Council to expand the list of countries from which non-essential travel is permitted regardless of vaccination status, subject to health-related measures such as testing and/or quarantine. As of now, the Council should review this list at least every 2 weeks.
Those traveling for essential reasons, including healthcare professionals, cross-border workers, seasonal agricultural workers, transport staff and seafarers, passengers in transit, those traveling for family reasons or educational purposes. will continue to be allowed to enter the EU, regardless of whether they are vaccinated or which country they come from. The same applies to EU citizens and long-term residents and their family members. This sort of travel will continue to be subject to health-related measures, including testing and quarantines as decided by each country.
‘Emergency brake’ to counter the spread of variants
When the epidemiological situation of a non-EU country worsens quickly, and if a variant is detected, the country where the detection occurred can urgently and temporarily suspend all inbound travel by non-EU citizens. The only exceptions in this case would be for essential workers, i.e.: healthcare professionals, transport personnel, diplomats, transit passengers, those travelling for emergency family reasons, seafarers, and persons in need of international protection or for other humanitarian reasons. Those travelers would be subject to strict testing and quarantine arrangements, even if they have been vaccinated.
In the event that these restrictions are put in place, according to the EU’s plan, the other members of the bloc, while meeting within the structures of the European Council, should review the situation in a coordinated manner and work closely together with the Commission to review the situation every two weeks.
Coordination is proving to be problematic, however, in lifting pandemic restrictions and getting travel across Europe restarted. While Brussels wants to establish an EU-wide coronavirus pass by June, tourism-dependent countries like Italy and Greece are rolling out their own measures, with Italy expected to have its own green pass ready for travelers – including those from the US and UK – by the middle of this month.
Despite the growing tensions between the individual members of the EU and the European bureaucracies in Brussels, the European Council and Parliament met for the first time on May 3 to discuss the digital green certificates, though no noticeable progress was made to resolve the issue of jurisdiction when it comes to the issuance of green travel documents.
