Filenews 23 March 2021
The Council's recommendations to ban unnecessary travel from third countries to EU Member States remain in force, the Commission stresses today, following the announcements of tourist trips from Israel to Greece.
In particular, in response to a question as to whether and to what end Greece is in breach of the Council's recommendations allowing non-necessary (tourist) travel from Israel as of now, Commission spokesman Christian Vigand said that "of course we expect all Member States to respect the Council's recommendations on non-necessary travel to the EU from third countries , which is essential for the integrity of the Schengen area."
"As clearly described in the digital green certificate proposal, we are working to ensure that certificates are compatible with systems in non-EU countries, but for now existing travel restrictions for non-essential travel should remain in place with the exception of a limited number of countries," the spokesman stressed. "The certificate (the proposal) does not change that," he stressed. "It will, however, also be available to third-country nationals travelling to the EU."
"Of course, I would add that we are aware of the initiatives already being taken by some Member States. With regard to the preparation of the technological tools necessary for the digital green certificate to be ready in the summer, this does not contradict what the Commission is doing to prepare, but of course the Commission's proposal will help coordinate these initiatives and avoid unnecessary fragmentation and confusion for travellers," he concluded.
Source: eyenews/KYPE
