EU backs vaccine certificates, opening beaches for summer

EU negotiators agreed on the introduction of mutually recognizable certificates that will allow quarantine-free travel within the bloc, offering the region’s battered tourist industry a chance to salvage the summer season. The EU’s Covid-19 certificates, which will be issued free of charge in digital or paper format, will offer proof their holders have been inoculated against the coronavirus, have recovered from the illness or have a recent negative test. All EU member states will accept visitors who hold the passes, without asking them to quarantine. The move to ease travel within the EU follows a deal between member states this week to also allow tourists from outside the bloc to visit if they’ve been fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to their arrival. There are also plans for a “white list” of non-EU countries with low infection rates, from which travelers will be exempt from the vaccination requirement. However, talks among the bloc’s member states about which nations should be included have stalled, and its publication may be postponed for two weeks, according to three diplomats familiar with the matter. As a result, only fully vaccinated Americans and British residents would be welcomed for the time being.<br/>