Greece to lift quarantine rule for more travelers, Denmark to open borders from May 1
European Union countries formally agreed on Wednesday to launch COVID travel passes as a step towards reopening to tourism this summer and will negotiate details with the bloc’s lawmakers in May, two diplomatic sources said. This decision comes when many European countries are announcing reopening for summer travel in phased manner. Latest to take such decision are Greece and Denmark.
The certificates would allow those vaccinated, recovered from COVID-19 or with negative test results to travel more easily in the EU, where restrictions on movement have weighed heavily on the travel and tourist industry for over a year.
The 27 EU member states “underlined their commitment to have the framework ready by the summer of 2021,” said a document endorsed by national envoys and seen by Reuters.
The European Parliament, which must also agree to the proposal for it to take effect, is due to agree its own position later this month and final talks between the lawmakers, national envoys and the bloc’s executive are expected to start in May.
EU countries are working in parallel to ensure “that the necessary technological solutions are in place”, the EU27 decision read, so that the new digital or paper certificates can be put to use once approved.
The member states’ agreement includes provisions against discrimination towards those who cannot or do not wish to get vaccinated and allows for a range of tests to prove recovery.
While member states would be obliged to recognise EU-approved vaccines, specific countries could also issue certificates covering jabs Russia’s Sputnik or China’s Sinovac vaccines that are only authorised on their territory.
Other EU countries would decide whether to accept a certificate referring to a vaccine not approved by EU regulators.
Meanwhile, Greece plans to lift quarantine restrictions from next week for travelers from the European Union and five other countries who have been vaccinated or test negative for COVID-19, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
Last month, the country lifted a one-week quarantine rule for Israeli travellers who have been inoculated and test negative.
Greece, which emerged from a decade-long financial crisis before the pandemic last year, has said it will open its tourism sector, a key growth driver for its economy, from the middle of May.
“We will gradually lift the restrictions at the beginning of next week ahead of the opening on May 14,” a senior tourism ministry official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The official said citizens from the European Union, the United States, Britain, Serbia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates will be allowed to travel to Greece via the airports of Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Chania, Rhodes, Kos, Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu, and two border crossings.
Passengers from those countries will not be quarantined, as long as they prove that they have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or show a negative PCR test carried out 72 hours prior to their arrival, the official said, adding the tourists would be subject to domestic lockdown restrictions.
Under current rules, all foreigners arriving in Greece should test negative and quarantine for seven days. For passengers from Britain and the United Arab Emirates, a second mandatory test is also required upon their arrival.
Greece has fared better than other EU countries in containing the first wave of the pandemic but a resurgence in COVID-19 infections has forced the country to impose lockdown restrictions since November.
Greece has reported a total of 301,103 cases and 9,054 deaths so far.
Similarly, Denmark will allow people from countries in the European Union and Schengen Area to enter the country from May if they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the foreign ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Denmark’s government agreed with parliament late on Tuesday on a plan to gradually reopen the Nordic country’s borders, starting on April 21.
As of May 1, fully vaccinated people, including tourists, in EU or Schengen countries with low infection rates will be allowed to enter Denmark with no demand that they present a negative COVID-19 test or go into quarantine. (Reuters)
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