EU Countries Re-opening For Tourism. Update 13.10.2020

Update 13.10.2020 EU Member States have adopted a Recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement in response to the COVID pandemic. This includes a classification of regions (green, orange, red and grey) based on the local epidemiological situation. The Recommendation invites Member States to provide timely information to travellers. The new coloured map will be available soon on the link below.

Until now, each Member State had established restrictions on citizens coming from other countries according to its own criteria and guidelines, many times different from each other. With the new Recommendation, the evaluation criteria are standardized and the risk of discrimination between European citizens is eliminated.

The Recommendation includes an express mention of the preference for conducting tests at origin and/or destination over quarantines -or self-isolation- and also invites States to continue cooperating in the mutual recognition of results and in the passenger location forms (opening the possibility of a European form).

With this Recommendation, Europe seeks greater coordination while preserving the principle of mobility between Member States. It establishes minimum mobility bases on which member states can build looser criteria depending on their health circumstances.

The Recommendation approved in Luxembourg also establishes the need to inform the public and operators in advance, following -whenever possible- the general rule of 24 hours in advance and relying on the use of the Re-open EU website. In the case of the adoption of national measures, the Member States concerned must be informed as a matter of priority.

Information from the EU website.

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Please note: The information provided is based upon our understanding of current legislation. It is not legal advice but is provided freely to enable you to be properly informed. We recommend that if you are considering taking action, you should seek professional advice.