European Union countries agreed on May 19th to ease COVID-19 travel restrictions on non-EU visitors ahead of the summer tourist season, which would allow vaccinated Britons and Americans to enter the European Union. As of May 26, 2021, there is no defined date in which vaccinated Americans can enter the EU, but senior EU officials have signaled in June or July. It is also important to note that the European Commission also agreed on an “emergency brake” system designed to stop dangerous virus variants from entering the EU. If infections spike in a non-EU country, new travel limits will be enacted.
Ambassadors from the 27 EU countries approved a European Commission proposal from May 3 to loosen the criteria to determine “safe” countries and to let in fully vaccinated tourists. Under previous restrictions, people from only seven countries, including Australia, Israel and Singapore, could enter the EU on holiday, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated.
What makes this announcement more important is that travelers would not have to coordinate their travels with individual country entry requirements (example: Portugal opened its borders to the UK prior to the entire EU, so a UK citizen would have needed to look into entry requirements for other EU countries if they desired to leave Portugal and visit Spain).
The Global Risk and Benefits Team recommends that you protect your travels. We have partnered with Insured Nomads to provide premium coverage to meet your travel coverage needs. Simply visit: https://imacorp.com/business/travel/ and select the “Are you a traveling with your family?” option. From there you are able to select the Insured Nomads product, insert your demographic information and purchase travel insurance for your trip.