EU to reopen borders to fully vaccinated travellers, raise number of new infections allowed before countries are declared unsafe
- Updated recommendations to be adopted on Friday will open up travel from outside the European bloc for those with EU-approved vaccinations
- Meanwhile, in Spain, 50,000 tourist professionals have gathered - in person - for a five-day travel trade fair
European Union member states agreed on Wednesday to reopen the bloc’s borders to travellers who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, European sources said.
Meeting in Brussels, diplomats also agreed to increase the level of new cases a country can hit before being declared unsafe – a measure that would open up travel to the EU from more places.
The recommendations will be adopted by EU ministers on Friday, they said. An EU Commission spokesman confirmed that the envoys had endorsed the update to travel rules.
Since March 2020, non-essential travel to the 27-member European Union has been banned, apart from a small number of countries deemed safe because of their low Covid-19 case rate. But businesses on the continent are reopening as virus restrictions are phased out and bars, hotels and restaurants are worried about the summer tourist trade.
Diplomats said that, under the new rules, travellers who could demonstrate that they had received the required number of doses of an EU-approved vaccine (which include those made by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson) could enter the bloc.