The Council of the European Union published a new statement in which it ordered European countries to once again follow the general rule on travel: to lift all remaining restrictions and promote full freedom of movement within the bloc, which has almost completely stopped during the pandemic. The European Commission published the document on December 13.
In line with the updated guidance, the Council announced that it had adopted amendments to EU travel advice recommending that member states refrain from introducing any new covid-19 restrictions.
“Under the new guidelines, member states should not impose any travel restrictions for public health reasons. However, the recommendations contain several precautionary measures in case the epidemiological situation worsens,” the message said.
It also stated that in the event of a worsening of the epidemiological situation and the need for member countries to restrict free movement, appropriate restrictive measures should be introduced in a coordinated manner in the form of the presentation of a valid EU digital certificate for covid, which contains data on vaccination/recovery/ testing
In cases where a dangerous coronavirus variant is detected in a third-world country, EU member states may, in exceptional cases, establish urgent, general, and temporary restrictions on travel. “Such a restriction should expire after 21 days unless member states decide to reduce it or extend it for an additional period,” the document said.
In addition, the Council also maintained the regime of the so-called “emergency braking”, as, in its opinion, this measure is necessary for a timely response to new variants of covid. As a reminder, Spain became the last country on October 21 to lift sanitary restrictions on entry due to COVID-19 for tourists entering from outside the EU. This allowed them to cross the border without filling out a medical certificate or providing proof of vaccination, testing, or recovery.
The covid pandemic has affected all spheres of activity in Europe. In particular, it put the tourism industry on its shoulders when, in March 2020, all trips to, from, and within Europe almost completely stopped. Although the travel sector has not yet fully recovered, experts from the European Tourism Commission (ETC) have predicted that by the end of 2023, European tourism will recover at least 75% of its pre-2019 figures. According to her data, the air transportation sector recovered better than others: the volume of flights in August was only 11% lower than the level before August 2019.