EU Could Ease Restrictions on Nonessential Visitors
Voice of America
The European Union announced Wednesday it would recommend its member countries allow fully vaccinated visitors from outside the bloc.
European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand told reporters in Brussels that ambassadors of the EU's 27 member states agreed to ease the criteria for nations to be considered a safe country from which all people can travel. Currently, only seven nations are considered safe, based on their COVID-19 infection rates. The EU imposed strict measures last year to contain outbreaks, but the bloc's ambassadors say many of the restrictions on nonessential travel should be eased as more people around the world are vaccinated and the summer tourism season approaches.
Municipal employees place caution tape to restrict access for tourists due to recent seismic activities in Oia village on the Greek island of Santorini, Feb. 5, 2025. Fire service rescuers arrive at the airport of the earthquake-hit island of Santorini, Greece, Feb. 5, 2025. A passenger sits on the dock while waiting for a ferry bound for the Greek mainland, in the earthquake-struck island of Santorini, Greece, Feb. 4, 2025.
A man sits beside the wreckage of burnt military supply vehicles used by suspected Islamic State fighters in the Cal Miskaad mountain range in Bari, east of the Gulf of Aden in the city of Bosaso, Puntland region, Somalia, Jan. 25, 2025. Puntland Security Forces parade newly trained soldiers and equipment to combat Islamic State in Somalia's Puntland region, Jan. 30, 2025. Puntland security forces patrol after capturing Islamic State bases in the Cal Miskaad mountain range in Bari, east of the Gulf of Aden in the city of Bosaso, Puntland region, Somalia, Jan. 25, 2025.
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Guards stand in a corridor Syrian Democratic Forces-run Gweiran Prison, now called Panorama, which houses men accused of being Islamic State fighters in Hassakeh, northeastern Syria, Jan. 31, 2025. An inmate accused of being an Islamic State fighter stands inside a cell at the Syrian Democratic Forces-run Gweiran Prison, now called Panorama, in Hassakeh, northeastern Syria, Jan. 31, 2025.
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Tourists pass by closed shops in Fira town as Greek authorities are taking emergency measures in response to intense seismic activity on the popular Aegean Sea holiday island of Santorini, southern Greece, Feb. 3, 2025. Passengers board a ferry to Athens' port of Piraeus after a spike in seismic activity raised concerns about a potentially powerful earthquake in Santorini, southern Greece, Feb. 3, 2025.
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