EU authorities have proposed opening entry for those vaccinated with WHO-approved vaccines

The European Commission has amended travel advice to the European Union and is now proposing to open borders to those vaccinated with WHO-approved vaccines. These amendments must be approved by the Council of the EU in order to enter into force, in which case they must come into effect from January 10.

Now tourists can cross the border of the European Union with a certificate of vaccination with a drug that is approved by the European Medical Regulator (EMA). If the EU Council allows the entry of tourists who have also been vaccinated with vaccines approved by WHO, then they will be able to do this if they have a PCR test in addition to the vaccination certificate. The vaccination itself must be done no later than nine months before crossing the border.

Russians vaccinated with Sputnik V will not be affected by this innovation - the Russian vaccine has not yet received WHO approval. Vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are currently registered in the European Union. The Chinese vaccine Sinopharm is not on this list either, but it received approval from the WHO in May, which, if amendments to the recommendations are adopted, will open entry into the European Union for those vaccinated with this drug.

The Council of the EU also proposes to allow entry into the European Union on COVID certificates issued in countries outside the Union, if they correspond to the format of the European electronic certificate (EU Digital COVID Certificate). For example, the EU already has agreements on mutual recognition of COVID-certificates with Ukraine and Turkey.

“For visitors from countries where there is no such equivalent, EU Member States may continue to accept proof of testing and vaccination issued by non-EU countries in accordance with their national law, subject to the need to be able to verify their authenticity and validity ", the message says. According to the rules for the use of COVID-certificates in the European Union that have been in force since the beginning of July, European countries can independently decide at the national level whether or not to admit vaccinated vaccines that are not recognized in the EU.