By Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission proposed on Monday that vaccinated people should be exempt from testing or quarantines when travelling from one EU country to another, and urged a gradual easing of travel measures as COVID-19 inoculations accelerate.
The EU reached a deal earlier this month on COVID-19 certificates that will show, via a QR code, whether a person is vaccinated, immune based on recovery from infection or has had a recent negative test. The scheme should be ready by July 1.
The European Union executive, which is seeking to end a current patchwork of travel measures across the bloc, said on Monday that testing or quarantines should not apply to people who have been fully vaccinated 14 days prior to travel.
About half of EU adults have received a first vaccine dose.
People who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection should be exempt from restrictions for 180 days. The Commission also proposed that more reliable, but more expensive PCR tests should be valid for 72 hours and rapid antigen tests for 48 hours.
Children, who are not yet in line for vaccinations, should not have to undergo a quarantine if travelling with parents who are exempt. Those aged six and older can be subject to tests.
The Commission has also included an “emergency brake” to re-impose measures for travellers from areas where there is a surge of infections or many cases of a particular virus variant.
Travel from “dark red” areas, with more than 150 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over 14 days, would be “strongly discouraged”, while for green areas, with fewer than 25 cases, no restrictions would apply, the Commission proposal said.
Only Malta is currently green.
The proposal, which will is being put to EU member states, is similar to that already agreed for travel from outside the bloc for vaccinated travellers and those coming from “safe” countries, although tests can still apply.
(Reporting by Marine Strauss and Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by John Chalmers and Bernadette Baum)
