EU To Reopen Borders To Travelers With Accepted Vaccine

European Union member states has agreed on Wednesday to reopen the bloc’s borders to travellers who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, European sources stated.

During a 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 into the EU from more places.

According to them, the recommendations will be adopted by EU ministers on Friday. An EU Commission spokesman confirmed that the envoys had endorsed the update to travel rules.

Since March 2020, non-essential travel into the 27-member European Union has been banned, asides a small number of countries announced safe because of their low Covid case rate.

However, 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 also stated that, under the new rules, travellers who could demonstrate that they had received the required number of doses of an EU-approved Covid vaccine could enter the bloc.

In addition, the number of cases per 100,000 people that a country could register over two weeks and still be considered for the green list will rise from 25 to 75.

This doesn’t include non-vaccinated travellers from much of the world but could allow travel from a place like Britain, which is well-advanced in its vaccination campaign.

The current green list only has seven countries: Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, plus China if Beijing agrees to reciprocate.

Member states also accepted to organize a coordinated emergency mechanism to rapidly suspend arrivals from a non-EU country stricken by the sudden appearance of a new variant.