European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sunday in an interview with the New York Times that the European Union will allow tourists from the United States to travel to its countries in the coming months, provided they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Von der Leyen stated, "Americans, I see, are using vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (...) this will allow for freedom of movement and travel to the European Union." She added that the reason for this is "that there is one clear thing: the 27 member states will accept, without condition, everyone who has been vaccinated with vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency."
The European Commission President did not specify when exactly vaccinated American tourists would be able to visit the European Union, but the New York Times indicated that the new rules governing this matter could be adopted as early as this summer, coinciding with the ramping up of vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 worldwide. The European Medicines Agency has approved the three vaccines used in the United States: Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson.
Von der Leyen commended the "tremendous progress" made by the United States in its campaign to vaccinate its citizens, noting that Americans are on track to vaccinate 70% of the adult population by mid-June. The Commission President clarified that the resumption of travel will depend on "the epidemiological situation, but the situation is improving in the United States, and it is also, we hope, improving in the European Union."
The pandemic has devastated the tourism sector in Europe, as many countries on the continent have closed their borders to non-essential travel. Last week, Greece, whose economy heavily relies on tourism, stated that travelers coming from the European Union and five other countries will be exempt from mandatory quarantine upon arrival, provided they are vaccinated against COVID-19 or present a negative test result. The European Union is considering creating a health passport to be implemented this summer to enable tourists to move freely between its countries.
