The COVID-19 epidemic has soared in European countries since November. Countries including Austria, the Netherlands, and other countries have taken more stringent epidemic prevention measures. The European Commission said today that it has proposed a new measure to ensure the safe and free movement of people and protect public health. It is hoped that the 27 member states will formulate safe travel regulations in a coordinated manner.
In the new measures, for foreigners traveling to the EU, the open standards are changed to personal health risks, rather than which country they are from. This change changes the EU’s past list of so-called “safe travel” countries in a rolling review. People from countries on the safety list are exempted from quarantine when entering the country. In the future, it will be based on whether the individual is fully vaccinated.
In order to allow people who have been vaccinated to travel more smoothly, the European Union has decided to open entry to people who have been gotten the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and it is also recommended to include emergency vaccines approved by the WHO. If all member states agree, the new measures will be implemented from January 10, 2022.
However, the European Union has also adopted a prudent approach. Those vaccinated with emergency vaccines authorized by the WHO may still need to provide a PCR negative certificate when entering the country.
In addition, EU member states have different regulations on the validity period of the vaccination certificate adopted this year. The EU also proposed today that it should be unanimously changed to be valid within 9 months after the last dose, as most EU member states implemented large-scale vaccinations in the second quarter of this year. Therefore, most EU citizens will need to get an additional dose next summer to extend the vaccine certificate and make travel more convenient.
