The European Union will open in the summer to tourists who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. However, this refers only to those vaccines that have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
There are also discussions about vaccination passports. This was stated by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the New York Times reports.
Probably the first country the EU borders will open for will be the United States, because the states have a rather fast rate of vaccination of citizens. In particular, negotiations are underway between the EU and US authorities to create vaccination certificates allowing tourists to prove they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
At the same time, the President of the Commission also announced the opening of borders for those who were vaccinated against the coronavirus without reference to the country.
"Because one thing is clear: all 27 member states will unconditionally accept anyone vaccinated with EMA-approved vaccines," Ursula von der Leyen said.
The agency has already approved vaccines used in the US—Moderna, Pfizer / BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson.
However, there are no specific dates yet, when exactly the borders may open for tourists or details of how this will happen. She also noted that the resumption of travel will depend on the epidemiological situation.
In addition, discussions are still ongoing on how to practically and technologically establish vaccination passports so that citizens can use them for travel.