EU agrees on new travel rules

The European Council agreed to implement new travel rules to better facilitate movement within the European Union. The new rules are aligned with the European Commission’s recommendation from November of last year (2021) and they will be instituted on Feb 1. 

The increased co-ordination between EU countries is designed to clarify the public health measures for travelers and make travel more convenient for citizens and residents. 

“We have achieved a joint-position on the basis of this recommendation, which should harmonize the measures in place, to a very good extent, for vaccinated people,” French Minister of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, said. “And the vaccination certificate is the tool that makes that possible. It wasn’t achieved overnight.”

The updated rules are as follows:

1. A person with a valid EU Covid Certificate should not be subject to any additional restrictions, but may still have to fill out a Passenger Locator Form on a country-by-country basis. 

2. A person without a valid EU Covid Certificate will still be allowed to travel as long as they test prior to or after arrival at their destination. 

3. Vaccine certificates for the primary series will be valid for 270 days.

4. Travelers from a ‘dark red’ area without a certificate may be required to take a test upon departure and quarantine for up to 10 days upon arrival. The ‘dark red’ zone refers to the country’s classification according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

5. EU citizens should not be refused entry to another EU country for Covid-related reasons. However the measures should still be proportionate to a person’s vaccination status. 

The EU has set up a website called Re-open EU, which helps travelers identify the travel requirements for each EU country as well as its ECDC classification. The website also provides information about which vaccines would be recognized by EU countries and the EU Digital Covid Certificate. 

These new rules are the latest in the EU’s efforts to facilitate safe travel within its borders. The process began with the implementation of the EU Digital Covid Certificate last summer. Prior to that the EU cautiously began allowing non-essential travel for fully vaccinated travelers. However many countries still had individual rules pertaining to testing and quarantine procedures for travelers.

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