[ad_1]
The EU has agreed on a method for determining safe travel destinations within Europe, in the hope of unifying a serendipitous mosaic of travel restrictions due to Covid-19.
Representatives of 27 member states agreed on a list of recommendations, which will include a color code to identify risk areas: green, orange or red depending on the level of Covid-19 in a particular country.
However, the recommendations will remain voluntary and individual countries will be free to adopt the suggestions or ignore them altogether. Ireland agreed in principle last month to join the EU system.
The travel industry hopes the measures will be widely adopted and help make travel within Europe less chaotic.
The methodology was agreed just as the pandemic is undergoing a second wave in Europe, with new infections growing at alarming levels in Madrid, Paris and other major EU destinations.
“This is an important step which, with a common risk analysis, will lead to greater predictability and transparency when traveling under Covid conditions in the EU,” tweeted a spokesperson for the EU presidency.
As already happened at the start of the pandemic last spring, EU states are taking very different approaches to travel restrictions due to Covid-19.
For example, Germany has issued a travel advisory for Belgium, while France has not. Hungary, for its part, has issued a general ban on all visits, with exceptions for travelers from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In an attempt to simplify things for travelers, the European Commission recommended the color coding system.
In the plan, member states commit to provide the necessary data at the regional and not just national level.
No news is bad news
Support the magazine
your contributions help us keep delivering the stories that are important to you
Support us now
The EU criteria include the number of positive cases per 100,000 people, as well as the testing rate in a given population.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control publishes a weekly updated map based on these data, but how the Member States use the data will depend on them.
The proposal also urges that “member states should continue their coordination efforts regarding the duration of the quarantine and alternative options.”
The proposal is due to be formally adopted at a meeting of European Affairs Ministers on Tuesday.
[ad_2]