European Commission pushes member states for common travel rules
According to EURACTIV, The European Commission on Friday (4 September) proposed a set of recommendations to prevent discriminatory measures applied by member states in a new attempt to harmonise fragmented COVID-19 travel restrictions across the bloc.
The EU executive’s proposal includes a common evaluation criteria for classifying colour-coded zones based on the number of newly registered COVID-19 cases, the share of positive tests and the number of tests conducted, as well as a single framework for high-risk travellers.
Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson recalled that on the eve of the crisis, the Commission had developed a basis for recommendations to member states on internal and external border controls.
“Today’s actions build on what has been achieved so far, so that we can fully benefit from the Schengen area. That is why we want a clear ‘green, orange, red’ system and not a kaleidoscope of individual measures,” she stressed.
According to the recommendation, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is to publish a weekly updated version of a colour-coded map that would classify European regions into green, yellow and red zones.
According to these criteria, member states intending to apply restrictions would have to inform other countries and Brussels each Thursday, before the measures would come into force at the beginning of the following week.
The Commission proposes that if more than 250 tests per 100,000 inhabitants are performed weekly in the country of origin, free movement should not be restricted if the number of cases is less than 50 or the number of positive tests does not exceed 3% of those tested.
At the same time, the EU executive is proposing a “traffic light” system that takes into account not only cases of disease, but also the proportion of positive test results.
A country is red if the number of cases exceeds 50% and the number of positive tests exceeds 3%, or if the number of new cases exceeds 150 in two weeks.
The Commission’s plan foresees no mandatory restrictions applied to green or orange zones, Johansson told reporters.
