EU Tourism Access Policies Related to Covid-19

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Vaccinated American tourists able to travel to EU this summer

Posted 27/04/2021

American tourists vaccinated against covid-19 will be able to travel to European Union countries this summer, said the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, in an interview with The New York Times.

"Americans, as far as I know, use vaccines that are approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). This will allow them to travel and move freely," the policy told the US newspaper.

 Von Der Leyen added: "Because one thing is clear: the 27 member states will accept, unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines approved by the EMA." The EMA has approved the vaccines developed by the pharmaceutical companies Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson, the three that are being administered in the United States.

However, the newspaper  the president of the EC did not offer an exact date or more details about this opening to American tourism for fully vaccinated people and pointed out that the last word will always be taken by individual countries. What Von Der Leyen did point out is that US was "on track" to achieve immunity in mid-June, with the vaccination of 70 percent of the adult population. The statements of European policy coincide with the preliminary phase for the European institutions to begin to negotiate the implementation of a community vaccination certificate.

The European Parliament wants to approve the final draft of this community certificate in its plenary session in June so that a pilot test of the document is launched at the beginning of that month and is fully available by the end, to help thus to promote the summer tourism campaign.

On March 17, the EC presented the digital certificate with the intention that it be ready before the summer to be able to reactivate travel by then, an objective shared by the air sector, which demands maximum agility from the Member States for its approval and implementation.

The Community Executive said that it wanted only the vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency to be recognized, although it stressed that it would give permission to the Governments to accept other drugs, such as the Russian Sputnik V or the Chinese Sinopharm.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/travel/vaccinated-american-tourists-able-to-travel-to-eu-this-summer

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EU proposes access for  vaccinated travelers

Greece reopened restaurants on Monday after six months lockdown

Posted 03/05/2021

AFP - The European Commission proposed on Monday to the member states) that they allow the entry of people from third countries vaccinated against Covid-19, which continues to wreak havoc in India, very close to crossing the threshold of 20 million cases.

In a statement, the European Commission - the executive body of the European Union - proposed "allowing entry to the EU (..) to all people from countries with a good epidemiological situation" and those who "have received the last recommended dose of a vaccine authorized by the EU ”.

According to the proposal made to the countries of the bloc, travelers who would be allowed to enter the EU on a non-essential trip must have received their vaccines 14 days before arrival.

For now, the EU formally recognizes four vaccines against Covid-19: those developed by BioNTech / Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

In addition, in a context of slight improvement in the pandemic on the continent, France and Greece began this Monday to prudently lighten their sanitary restriction measures.

In France, after a month of closure, secondary school students returned to classrooms on Monday a week after their preschool and primary school peers.

Traffic restrictions were also lifted, which prevented the French from traveling more than 10 kilometers from their homes, except for compelling reasons.

In Greece, the country's cafes and restaurants reopened Monday after six months of closure, on a day of summer temperatures.

 

https://www.newsroompanama.com/travel/eu-proposes-access-for-vaccinated-travelers-1