EU Commission urges stricter measures for travelers

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - The European Commission on Monday urged member states to impose stricter measures on international travelers coming from outside the bloc as the novel coronavirus pandemic continues its spread.

The new proposal suggests all travelers, including EU-residents and non-EU citizens, coming from outside the EU would be required to submit a negative COVID-19 test report before their departure.

The EU body also proposed to introduce a unified European document to be filled with information on the health condition and place of departure of the travelers. The Common European Passenger Locator Form would replace the different forms used by each EU country.

EU countries are also advised to request a 14-day self-isolation from those who arrive from countries with a higher infection rate. So far, many European countries only demand seven or 10-day quarantines.

The document also encourages EU governments to update the criteria upon which travel ban from non-EU countries are lifted.

The criteria would focus more on the new variants of the virus and demand better testing performance from non-EU countries.

The EU executive body issued a separate proposal on travels within the bloc.

In order to discourage non-essential travelers, the documents suggest EU states order stricter measures for people arriving from high-risk zones, similar to the ones demanded from international travelers.

The European Commission’s proposal is not mandatory for EU states. The governments are expected to decide on the measures in the upcoming weeks.