Traveling inside Europe – Where and when the travel will be possible again
In the last couple of months, we witnessed that staying at home and not be able to travel as we used to, is something that makes us anxious and stressful so many of us are readily waiting for the countries to reopen its borders again.
The countries and the officials are still dealing with the situation with the coronavirus pandemic, but gradually and irreversibly starting to open their borders for tourists and travelers.
The coordinated opening of Europe under the supervision of the European Commission is starting on Monday, June 15.
Although some of the countries already partially opened some borders for the neighboring countries ahead of that date, some others are preparing for more international openings. And if it is going according to the Commission’s recommendations, most of the countries will be ready awaiting international travel just in time for the summer holiday season starting July 1.
The limitation relates to the countries outside the European bloc, that are still battling with the coronavirus pandemic, and the entry won’t be allowed yet, except for students and highly-skilled non-European workers.
The European Commission is trying to persuade member states to agree on a list of non-EU countries whose citizens could travel to Europe starting in July, the list should be reviewed on regular basis and would be based on each country’s infection rates and capability to deal with the virus.
The external opening will apply to “countries whose epidemiological situation is similar to the E.U. average and where sufficient capabilities to deal with the virus are in place,” explained Ylva Johansson, European Home Affairs Commissioner. “As travelers entering the E.U. can move freely from one country to another, member states must coordinate their decisions on lifting travel restrictions.”
All the European countries put in place its own rules and timetable receiving European tourists and tourists from abroad.
“Countries are not required to follow the European Union advice and some – including British summer holiday favorites – are taking a different approach,” writes The Telegraph.
As Euronews reports, “if you’re intending on coming to the E.U. for a holiday, it’s worth knowing the bloc’s external borders are set to be closed until at least July 1. But that only applies if you’re a non-E.U. citizen coming from a non-E.U. country.”
The E.U. also recommended opening the country borders for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia that are non-EU countries.
Also as Euronews reports “if you’re intending on coming to the E.U. for a holiday, it’s worth knowing the bloc’s external borders are set to be closed until at least July 1. But that only applies if you’re a non-E.U. citizen coming from a non-E.U. country.”
The survey by Schengen VsaInfo.com was conducted on 2.636 respondents from 87 third-countries, shown that the majority of travelers are planning to travel to Europe within the first three months of opening the borders:
- 62% of travelers will visit Europe within the first month of borders reopening.
- 80% of travelers intend to visit the Schengen Area within the three first months of border reopening;
- Another 12.5% hope to travel to the territory later this year;
- Tourism is the primary purpose of their trips;
- Germany and France top the list of Schengen countries where tourists plan to travel.
As Europe is starting to open its borders, we will keep you updated with the list of separate countries opening for international travel and their limitations and restrictions.
For more, please refer to Emporium-lifestyle
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