EU says vaccinated residents should be able to travel freely without quarantine

From July 1, EU wants a digital Covid-19 certificate to be used to allow travellers within the bloc to avoid testing or quarantine requirements

Countries expected to be ready to issue certificates on Tuesday included Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Denmark and Poland

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Discussions are under way with ‘many countries’ – including the United States – to allow mutual recognition of the EU’s certificate. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 10:30pm, 31 May 2021Updated: 1:30am, 1 Jun 2021

Fully vaccinated residents in the EU should be exempt from Covid-19 quarantine when travelling within the bloc, the European Commission urged on Monday in a sign of increased confidence in its jabs roll-out.

The EU executive’s update to its non-binding travel recommendations was unveiled a week before EU legislation on a digital EU Covid-19 certificate is expected to be passed with enforceable measures across member states.

“The last weeks have brought a continuous downward trend in infection numbers, showing the success of the vaccination campaigns across the EU,” European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said.

That, along with a boost in affordable testing, means “member states are now slowly lifting Covid-19 restrictions both domestically and regarding travel”, he said.

When it comes into force from July 1, the European Union wants the Covid-19 certificate to be used to allow travellers within the bloc to avoid testing or quarantine requirements if they can show they are fully vaccinated, have recovered from a Covid-19 infection, or have a recent negative test.