(1)

On 30 June 2020, the Council adopted Recommendation (EU) 2020/912 on the temporary restriction on non-essential travel into the EU and the possible lifting of such restriction (1).

(2)

On 2 February 2021, the Council amended Recommendation (EU) 2020/912 on the temporary restriction on non-essential travel into the EU and the possible lifting of such restriction (2) in order to update the criteria used to assess whether non-essential travel from third countries is safe and should be allowed.

(3)

The same amendment introduced mechanisms to contain the spread of variants of concern of the virus SARS-COV-2 in the EU+ area (3).

(4)

Since then, mass vaccination campaigns against the virus SARS-COV-2 have been rolled-out in the EU+ area, as well as in many other regions and third countries.

(5)

On 17 March 2021, the Commission proposed two Regulations (4) to create Digital Green Certificates to facilitate safe free movement within the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the EU, the Digital Green Certificate will be a proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, received a negative test result or recovered from COVID-19. The Member States remain responsible for deciding which public health restrictions can be waived for travellers but should apply such waivers in a non-discriminatory way to travellers in possession of a Digital Green Certificate.

(6)

Scientific advice and empirical evidence on the effects of vaccination are becoming increasingly available and consistently conclusive on the fact that vaccination helps in breaking the transmission chain.

(7)

This evidence suggests that travel restrictions could be safely waived in certain cases for persons who can demonstrate having received the last recommended dose of a COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the EU pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5), and that such waivers could also be justified to the extent that a person has been vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine that has completed the WHO Emergency Use Listing process.

(8)

Children who in consideration of their age are excluded from COVID-19 vaccination should be able to travel with their vaccinated parents under condition of having tested negative to a PCR COVID-19 test taken at the earliest 72 hours before crossing the border of the EU+ area. In these cases, Member States could require additional testing after arrival.

(9)

However, few or no studies are yet available on whether variants of concern escape the immune response induced by the various COVID-19 vaccines. Therefore, in line with the precautionary approach, an ‘emergency brake’ mechanism should be established in order to allow Member States to adopt, in a coordinated way, urgent and time-limited measures to quickly react to the emergence of a variant in a given third country that has come under specific scrutiny, and in particular where it has been designated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) as a variant of interest. This emergency brake should allow for appropriate measures, including limitations of entry, to be taken, with a view to preventing its import and spread in the EU+ area. Such measures should be subject to rapid coordination in the Council to allow for a common approach.

(10)

The progress in having the population of a third country vaccinated against the virus should be taken into account when assessing the epidemiological situation in that country.

(11)

Once adopted, the Digital Green Certificate Regulations will provide the basis, through a Commission implementing act, for treating third country vaccination certificates equivalent to Digital Green Certificates, or to issue such certificates to persons having been vaccinated in third countries. In order to ensure a coordinated approach of the Member States and to facilitate onwards travel of travellers from third countries within the EU+ area, steps should be taken to facilitate the use of these provisions. To this end, the Member States could consider setting up a portal where persons residing outside the EU+ area could ask for the recognition of their vaccination certificate issued by a third country as reliable proof of vaccination and/or for the issuance of a Digital Green Certificate.

(12)

Where Member States accept proof of vaccination in order to waive restrictions put in place in compliance with Union law to limit the spread of COVID-19, such as requirements to undergo quarantine/self-isolation or be tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection, they should in principle waive these requirements for travellers resident in a third country who, at the latest 14 days before entering the EU+ area, have received the last recommended dose of a COVID-19 vaccine having been authorised in the EU pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 726/2004. Member States could also decide to waive restrictions for travellers vaccinated with another COVID-19 vaccine having completed the WHO Emergency Use Listing process. Both should, however, not apply where a Member State has made use of the emergency brake. Until the Digital Green Certificate Regulations are adopted and become applicable, and until the Commission has adopted an implementing act for treating third country vaccination certificates equivalent to Digital Green Certificates, Member States should be able to accept third country certificates containing at least the minimum data set based on national law, taking into account the ability to verify the authenticity, validity and integrity of the certificate and whether it contains all relevant data.

(13)

In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of Protocol No 22 on the Position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the TFEU, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Recommendation and is not bound by it or subject to its application. Given that this Recommendation builds upon the Schengen acquis, Denmark shall, in accordance with Article 4 of the said Protocol, decide within a period of six months after the Council has decided on this Recommendation whether it will implement it.

(14)

This Recommendation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in which Ireland does not take part, in accordance with Council Decision 2002/192/EC (6); Ireland is therefore not taking part in its adoption and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

(15)

As regards Iceland and Norway, this Recommendation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the latter’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point A, of Council Decision 1999/437/EC (7).

(16)

As regards Switzerland, this Recommendation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point A, of Decision 1999/437/EC (8) read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decision 2008/146/EC (9).

(17)

As regards Liechtenstein, this Recommendation constitutes a development of provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Protocol between the European Union, the European Community, the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the accession of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis which fall within the area referred to in Article 1 point A, of Decision 1999/437/EC (10) read in conjunction with Article 3 of Decision 2011/350/EU (11).

(18)

The legal status of this recommendation as recalled in recitals 13 to 17 is without prejudice of the need for all Member States, in the interest of the proper functioning of the Schengen area, to decide on the lifting of the restriction on non-essential travel into the EU in a coordinated manner,