Travel corridors for tourists with vaccinations?

SGreek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been campaigning for vaccinated people to travel again since the beginning of the year. It fell on deaf ears in the European Union, but not in Israel, which it visited last week. At a press conference in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had spoken with his guest about a “green passport” scheme, “with which Israelis can travel to Greece without any restrictions as soon as we lift the flight restrictions “.

Mitsotakis congratulated Netanyahu on the rapid rate of vaccination in Israel, adding that this will allow Greece “to give Israeli tourists the opportunity to vacation in Greece without further restrictions.” It should be easier for travelers who have a vaccination certificate. “We want to do the same with Israel, because it is the country that has advanced very quickly in vaccinating the majority of the population. I am very pleased that our two ministries are working in this direction ”. In this sense, Israel could be an example of Greece’s cooperation with other countries.

EU: No travel facilitation for vaccinated people

This was preceded by the signing of an agreement between the tourism ministries of both countries on closer cooperation in the marketing of joint tourism. However, final agreements on “green passports” or “travel corridors” are not part of this agreement. According to the Greek Minister of Tourism, Haris Theocharis, tourists from Israel are among the ten largest groups of tourists in Greece. In this case, Greece is likely to have benefited most from the sustained deterioration in the relationship between Israel and Turkey. The rapprochement between Tel Aviv and Athens also has to do with the fact that both Israel and Greece have a difficult relationship with Turkey.

The new Greek activities are causing unease in the EU Commission. A spokesperson told the FAZ that member states had just agreed on a common line for entry from third countries, without any travel facilitation for vaccinated people. The EU Commission and most member states rejected the vaccination pass initiative as “premature” in January. Although they are working on an electronic vaccination certificate for everyone, it is initially only intended for health purposes. People only want to talk about making travel easier when it is clear how long vaccination protection will last and if people who have been vaccinated are contagious. Also, many more people would have to be vaccinated overall.

Entry allowed from six countries

At the moment, tourists are only allowed to enter the EU from six countries. They have to meet demanding requirements; In 14 days, a maximum of 25 out of every 100,000 inhabitants may be infected with the coronavirus. In Israel, this value is currently just under 100, which is too high. And in any case, all EU states would have to agree before the country is on the positive list. Because once you have arrived in the Schengen area, you can move freely there, at least within the framework of national Corona regulations. Greece belongs to the Schengen area.