Coronavirus: EU eyes summer reopening to fully vaccinated travellers
- ‘All people who have received the last recommended dose of an EU-authorised vaccine’ would be allowed under the proposal
- Vaccines authorised by the bloc’s drug regulator include Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson
In an announcement sure to be welcomed by travellers worldwide, EU officials on Monday proposed easing restrictions on visiting the 27-nation bloc as vaccination campaigns across the continent gather speed.
Travel to the European Union is currently extremely limited except for a handful of countries with low infection rates. But with the summer tourism season looming, the European Commission hopes the new recommendations will dramatically expand that list.
“The commission proposes to allow entry to the EU for non-essential reasons not only for all persons coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation, but also all people who have received the last recommended dose of an EU-authorised vaccine,” it said.
EU officials believe the bloc’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign will soon be “a game changer” in the fight against the deadly virus. Its proposal will be discussed with EU ambassadors this week and the commission hopes it could enter into force by June.