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Vaccinated Americans Can Travel To Europe This Summer

Suzanne Rowan Kelleher
Forbes Staff
I write about travel trends and news you can use.
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The 27 ambassadors for European Union nations have agreed to open their borders to vaccinated Americans and other non-EU citizens after more than a year of onerous travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some E.U. member states, including Greece, already permit tourists to visit without quarantine requirements if they have been vaccinated.

“Today E.U. ambassadors agreed to update the approach to travel from outside the European Union,” E.U. spokesperson Christian Wigand told reporters. The European Council is recommending that its member states “ease some restrictions, in particular for those vaccinated with an E.U.-authorized vaccine.”

All three vaccines available in the United States—Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson—are covered by the proposal.

The eased rules would also apply to travelers from “white-listed” countries that have controlled the Covid outbreak, meaning a 14-day average of under 75 new daily cases per 100,000 people. An updated “white list” will be released later this week.

Leaders of the E.U. countries still need to give official approval of this proposal next week, but this is seen as a rubber-stamp formality. That would open the door for implementation soon thereafter, though no date has been set.

Each member state will be able to pull an “emergency brake” to block travel from countries where variants are spiking.

Later this week, Brussels is expected to provide an update on its Digital Green Certificate program, which will allow travelers to share their vaccine status via a QR code on a smartphone app or paper hard copy. Once the vaccine certificate is available, each E.U. member state would essentially adopt the same entry requirements for visitors. Fully vaccinated travelers would be allowed to enter any of the countries without having to quarantine upon arrival or provide recent negative test results.

Meanwhile, around Europe there are many hopeful signs of a return to normal. Just today, French restaurants, cafes and bars reopened after six months of closures.


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Suzanne Rowan Kelleher
Suzanne Rowan Kelleher
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