EU recognizes vaccination passports from Albania, Andorra, Faroe Islands, Israel, Monaco, Morocco and Panama for travel
Travelers from Albania, Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Israel, Monaco, Morocco and Panama may soon travel to EU countries with the same restrictions as EU residents, as they have joined countries using the EU COVID Digital Certificate.
The European Commission's Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations announced on Wednesday (September 15th) that the Commission now recognizes COVID-19 certificates issued by all these countries as equivalent to those issued by EU member states under the vaccination passport scheme. EU.
The EU created the COVID-19 travel certificate in an attempt to restore freedom of travel between Member States. Since its launch, passengers holding the certificate have been able to travel throughout the European bloc without or with minimum restrictions.
"As a result, the seven countries and territories will be connected to the EU system, and the COVID certificates they issue will be accepted in the EU under the same conditions as the EU digital COVID certificates. ", notes the General Directorate in a press release announcing the decision. EU travelers will also be able to travel to these seven countries with their EU digital certificate.
Commenting on the decision, EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said that throughout the summer of 2021, EU citizens were able to travel safely thanks to the certificate, adding that EU countries have so far issued more than 420 million certificates.
The certificate is issued to those who are completely vaccinated, to those who have recovered from the disease in the last 180 days, as well as to those who have been tested negative for COVID-19. The first third countries to join the scheme were Northern Macedonia, Turkey and Ukraine, for which the EU Commission adopted three equivalence decisions on 20 August.