EU set to relax COVID-19 travel restrictions

Tourists from outside the European Union could soon be allowed to visit the region, as EU ambassadors have endorsed a plan to ease COVID-19-related restrictions on foreign travel.

EU envoys this week agreed to a European Council proposal that would welcome the arrival of vaccinated visitors as well as non-essential travelers from countries that are deemed low risk. The council must now formally adopt the move for it to go ahead.

Under the proposal, people from non-EU countries may visit the region if they have been vaccinated with an EU-approved treatment. These include COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson. The European regulator is currently reviewing authorization of a vaccine from Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac, as well as Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and treatments from companies CureVac and Novavax.

Unvaccinated non-essential travelers will also be able to visit the EU from a list of countries with low infection rates. These currently include Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and China (subject to confirmation of reciprocity).

European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said that the EU may soon expand its list of "epidemiologically safe countries". The United Kingdom had appeared on track to join the list, however the recent spread of a COVID-19 variant first identified in India, known as B.1.617.2, could delay this. Wigand also said that the proposal includes a new measure that would allow member states to reinstall restrictions on listed countries if and when new variants emerge and spread.

"To limit the risk of coronavirus variants entering the EU, the council agreed on a new emergency brake mechanism, allowing member states to act quickly and in a coordinated manner," Wigand said. "This will help progressively resume international inbound travel where it's possible to do so safely while at the same time ensuring quick action to counter the spread of new virus variants."

The EU council could formally adopt the new rules as early as this week, however full implementation of the proposal is likely to take longer since an international system for proof of vaccination does not yet exist.

The EU is working on its own so-called digital vaccination certificate, which would allow vaccinated EU residents to move freely between member states. Wigand told reporters last week that the system should be up and running by the end of June.

This week UK authorities added a feature to the National Health Service smartphone application that will allow users to provide proof of vaccination at borders. Currently, the service only applies to travelers departing from England.

The UK has also rolled out a "traffic light" system for arrivals into the country. People coming to the UK from countries on the "green" list only need to provide negative tests; those coming from "amber" countries must test negative and isolate at home for 10 days; and people arriving from "red"-listed nations need to test negative and pay for a 10-day quarantine period in a hotel.

The system has come under fire from travel agencies and airlines, who argue that the public is confused as to whether travel to and from amber-listed countries is recommended or even legal.

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC on Thursday that people should only go to countries on the "amber" list in "exceptional circumstances" while the UK grapples with the spread of the B.1.617.2 variant.