Covid-19: EU Summit to Examine Freer Travel Movement, Simpler Rules 

Photo © European Union 2020 – Source : EP

Freer movement is set to top the agenda of an EU leaders meeting in Brussels on October 21-22, which will also examine ways to implement a coordinated approach to travel in and out of the EU, Bloomberg reports. 

EU leaders are expected next week to request a revision of Covid-19 travel rules as well as the mutual recognition of Covid certificates and documents from third countries in an attempt to facilitate travel in and out of the EU and do away with a confusing patchwork of regulations among member states. 

Citing a draft of European Council summit conclusions, Bloomberg reports that EU leaders will also push to intensify vaccination reach, requesting the rapid immunization of the general population. 

Speaking during an informal meeting of EU health ministers in Brdo, Slovenia on Tuesday, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides called on governments to move swiftly ahead with vaccination and to “fulfill their global commitments”.

“In some member states vaccination rates are still alarmingly low. We must do everything we can to ensure that this does not turn into a pandemic of the unvaccinated, either in the EU or worldwide,” she said.

Photo source: European Union / Savo Prelevic

So far, approximately 75 percent of the population in the EU has been vaccinated against Covid-19.

“We are not safe if we do not vaccinate the rest of the world. The success of the EU vaccine strategy has demonstrated the importance of EU cooperation and solidarity in responding to cross-border health threats. This is the plan and model that we are following in our joint work to build a strong European Health Union,” Kyriakides said.

Besides Covid-19 management, the heads of EU states will also discuss digital transformation, energy prices, migration and external relations.