French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune has indicated that, as expected, EU ministers for European affairs adopted the revised recommendation on non-essential travel to the EU—which will apply as of 1 March—on Tuesday, 22 February.
According to this recommendation, Covid-19 travel restrictions should be applied taking both the situation in the third country and the individual status of the person into account. Member States should allow non-essential travel for people who have been vaccinated with an EU- or WHO-approved vaccine, those who have recovered [from Covid-19], and anyone travelling from a country on the EU list. A press release indicates that, for some of these travellers, additional measures such as PCR testing before travel could nevertheless apply, for example, if they do not hold a Covid certificate that is equivalent to the EU certificate.
In addition, Member States should lift the temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU if those travelling have received their last dose of the primary vaccination series fewer than 270 days before their arrival. Member States should also lift the temporary restriction on non-essential travel for people who have recovered from Covid-19 within the 180 days that precede their travelling to the EU.
For those vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine, Member States could also require a negative PCR test—taken no earlier than 72 hours before departure—and could apply additional measures such as quarantine or isolation.
The recommendation also revises the criteria according to which restrictions can be lifted from third countries: the number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the last 14 days increasing from 75 to 100.
The move to a purely person-based approach rather than a set list of non-EU countries based on these criteria will be phased in, starting on 30 April, to give third countries time to increase their vaccination rates.
Link to the revised recommendation: https://aeur.eu/f/fm (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)