BRUSSELS, 17 may 2021, (TON): Almost over one year after Europe completely closed its borders to the outside world in its efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, the European Commission has proposed that the 27-member-bloc ease its current restrictions on non-essential travel while taking into account the progress of vaccination campaigns and developments in the epidemiological worldwide situation.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted, “It’s time to revive European Union’s tourism industry and for cross-border friendships to rekindle – safely… we propose to welcome again vaccinated visitors and those from countries with a good health situation. But if variants emerge we have to act fast; we propose an EU emergency brake mechanism.”

The Commission said it was pushing for the resumption of non-essential travel, not only for all those coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation, but for anyone who has received the last recommended dose of an EU-authorized vaccine and added that this could be extended to vaccines that have completed the WHO emergency-use listing process.

Each country should allow travel into the EU of those people who have received, at least 14 days before arrival, the last recommended dose of a vaccine. The individual health officials of each country are able to extend this to those vaccinated with a vaccine having completed the WHO emergency-use listing process. In addition, if one country decides to waive the vaccine requirements in exchange for a negative PCR test and/or quarantine, they should also waive the same requirements for vacccinated travelers from outside the EU.