The EU intends to change the rules of travel against the pandemic with the new coronavirus

Three EU diplomats have announced that they are considering changing travel rules within EU borders, but also in / from third countries. It is hoped to ease the process of travel amid the ongoing pandemic. Emphasis will be placed more on the individual health risk of the passenger than on the epidemiological situation in the country of departure.

According to the updated rules, passengers holding a valid COVID-19 vaccination certificate would not be subject to additional tests or self-isolation requirements. However, countries could continue to introduce additional measures for travel within territories included in the dark red category, which consists of countries severely affected by Coronavirus, based on data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The colors of the ECDC map reveal the health risk situation with regard to COVID-19, taking into account the rates of infection and testing in other countries. Following the proposed changes, the map would also take into account the vaccination rate in other countries.

The new plan follows a European Commission proposal in November 2021 to take an "individual-based approach" to travel to EU countries, which means that people with a COVID-19 vaccination certificate "would not they should, in principle, be subject to additional travel restrictions, regardless of the country of origin of the European Union. "

Since the beginning of the pandemic, authorities in European countries have taken precautionary measures to stop the spread of Coronavirus and its new strains, which mainly affect travelers from countries considered to be severely affected by Coronavirus. However, Omicron has spread rapidly and has become a dominant strain all over the world.

In this context, WHO calls for a change in strategy and elimination of travel bans because they did not bear fruit, instead they generated more stress among the population and had strong economic effects on several industries.