Madrid, Spain.Photo: Getty
After over a year of restrictive travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Union has agreed to open its borders to vaccinated tourists, including Americans.
On Wednesday, ambassadors of the 27-coutry bloc approved a European Commission proposal that will allow fully vaccinated tourists into the E.U., according toReutersand theAssociated Press.
“Today, E.U. ambassadors agreed to update the approach to travel from outside the European Union,” European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand told reporters, per the AP.
The official reopening is likely to take days once it meets its final approval, which will take place either later this week or next, according to reports.
travel.Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty
According to theWashington Post, European officials are also working on a plan to eliminate quarantine rules for vaccinated visitors that have been implemented in countries like France and Belgium, both of which require a seven-day quarantine for incoming travelers.
Due to no longer being a part of the E.U., Britain has its own set of rules regarding travel amid the pandemic.
Reports first surfaced late last month that the E.U. was planning toallow American touristswho have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to visit this summer. The three vaccines used in the U.S. — Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson — have also been approved in Europe.
“The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told theNew York Timeslast month “This will enable free movement and the travel to the European Union.”
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As of Wednesday, around 33 percent of E.U. residents have now received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to theWashington Post. Meanwhile, nearly 48 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 37.8 percent of the population is fully vaccinated against the virus, theCDC reported.
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source: people.com
