EU allows fully vaccinated people to re-enter from third countries
Anyone who has been fully vaccinated against Covid should also re-enter as a non-EU citizen. The guideline values for previous exemptions will also be relaxed.
In view of the great advances in vaccination in countries such as the USA and Israel, the European Union wants to significantly relax the restrictions on entry from third countries. Tourists who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will soon be able to enter the country more easily - if the EU states also accept proof of vaccination for travel within the block of states.
In order to protect themselves from the pandemic, in March 2020 all EU countries except Ireland and the non-EU countries Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland agreed on recommendations for an extensive stop for non-essential entries. The recommendations are not legally binding, but they are considered an important directional decision.
The "white list" criterion will be adjusted
There are exceptions for family members, diplomats and medical staff. Last summer, the EU states then stipulated the conditions under which entry from certain states with a good virus situation should become easier. There are currently seven third countries on the relevant "white list".
The agreement now stipulates that people who have been vaccinated will be allowed to re-enter two weeks after the last vaccination if they present a valid vaccination certificate. It should also play a role whether vaccinated EU citizens are also allowed to travel to the relevant third country.
Vaccines that are approved in the EU should be accepted. So far, these are the four preparations from BioNTech / Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. However, the EU states can decide for themselves whether they should continue to impose test or quarantine obligations on vaccinated persons. Some countries such as Greece already allow vaccinated persons from some third countries to enter the country without quarantine.
In the future, more people should be allowed to enter the country regardless of the vaccination. To this end, the EU states are loosening a criterion on the "white list". The limit for the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the past 14 days is to be raised from 25 to 75. Further criteria are, for example, the test rate and the positive rate in a country. In the coming days, the EU states will discuss separately from which countries entry will soon be easier under these conditions.
Dispute over digital EU vaccination certificate continues
In the event that the corona situation in a country worsens dramatically within a short period of time, a kind of emergency brake is provided. This should be used in particular for regions in which worrying virus variants occur. Then a strict entry freeze should be imposed immediately with only a few exceptions.
The decision has yet to be formally confirmed by the EU states. At the same time,
the EU is working to make traveling within Europe easier with the help of a vaccination certificate. However, the negotiations between EU states and the European Parliament on Tuesday evening did not bring any result and will go into the next round on Thursday.