The EU recommends opening up to recreational travel between Member States with low levels of infection or to people who have already been fully vaccinated in early June.
On Monday, a message came from the European Commission: they want to open the borders between member states at the beginning of June.
The EU recommends opening borders to people who have been fully vaccinated, but also to people from Member States with a low infection rate.
As vaccination protection is increasing in European countries, the EU believes it is time to change the approach of 'unnecessary travel'.
NHO Tourism believes this is very good news.
- This is very good news and gives hope. Now we expect the Norwegian authorities to immediately follow the same path, says director Kristin Krohn Devold.
Gradual phasing out of restrictions
According to the EU proposal, the borders will be opened no later than the beginning of June. The proposal will be assessed by the member states on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Many countries now have rules on testing and quarantine on entry. The EU believes that these principles will continue to be applied for some time, but hopes to phase out them gradually.
"As the situation improves and vaccination of the population continues to increase, we hope we can see a gradual withdrawal from these programs as well."
The NHO believes that the proposal from the EU is very positive news.
- Now fully vaccinated people can travel freely in the EU. Of course, the Norwegian authorities also need to take further action so that all our foreign visitors who have been vaccinated can freely enter Norway, says Krohn Devold.
EU will open borders to tourists from June - Two demands on the government
NHO tourism places two demands on the government:
- One is to signal that we are complying with the EU requirements for vaccine passports for fully vaccinated people, and the other is that the Norwegian vaccination certificate should also be used for something. I believe that those who received the first dose of the vaccine should be able to move on to their ordinary existence, says the director.
As more and more people are vaccinated and the infection is declining, he believes that the national certificate must be open to further opening.
The NHO believes the government will follow the same teaching as the EU when it comes to vaccine passports.
- When should it take effect?
– This should come into force immediately. Once you have a vaccine passport to use, you should be able to use it for something. This is also what caring is all about work in Norway, and we have no time to waste here - he says.
According to the FHI plan, the draft of the vaccination certificate will be ready by May 4.
As of June 22, Norway's coronavirus certification must comply with EU requirements for vaccine passports.
A new frontier for "green countries"
The EU proposal allows people who have stayed fully vaccinated, travel freely between member states. However, they require the last dose to be taken at least two weeks before the law enters into force.
People who have not been fully vaccinated will also be able to travel provided they come from a country with a "good epidemiological situation".
In the past, the EU has acted with a limit of 25 infected per 100 inhabitants in the last two weeks. This means that only seven countries are considered "green" at the time of writing.
The EU now wants to increase the limit from 25 to 100 infected per 100 inhabitants, which will mean that countries will be able to be defined as green much faster.
The UK is already 23,2 infected per 100 inhabitants. For comparison, in Norway there are 000 infected per 100 inhabitants, according to Coronavirus VG review .
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to advise against travel that is not strictly necessary to all countries, but the recommendation is currently valid until May 15.
EU will open borders to tourists from June - Important for the Norwegian tourism industry
NHO Tourism believes that opening borders between EU countries will be of great importance to the tourism industry in Norway.
- In Norway, 30 percent of the overnight guests are foreign guests. Being able to get a third or half of our overseas visitors back before summer will of course mean a lot to how quickly we get back workers from "vacation", Sir Krohn Devold.
– This is important for companies and means a lot to employees who are at home abroad and waiting to return work in Norway - continue.
However, he believes that it is unlikely that Norway will open up to unvaccinated people from countries with a slight infection so that they can travel to the country immediately without quarantine.
- I probably expect that we will have strict control over people who have not been vaccinated and come to Norway. Quarantine is in force. I think we should focus on the main path, which is admitting those who have been vaccinated or who can document that they have been ill, says Krohn Devold.
Emergency brake
The EU also proposes that member states be allowed to use the emergency brake.
If the epidemiological situation in a non-EU country worsens rapidly, or if a virus variant of particular concern is detected, Member States must be able to impose severe restrictions.
"They must be able to quickly and temporarily ban the entry of all citizens from countries that are not part of the EU," reads Monday's statement.
Exceptions will still be made for necessary travel, and the program is now operational and working.
