Europe’s travel pass at risk as Italy, Greece add hurdles for vaccinated

Leaders are planning to call for nations to coordinate their travel moves and avoid steps that would “disproportionately hamper free movement” within or into the EU, according to the latest draft of their joint communique obtained by Bloomberg. The wording could change after EU leaders meet Thursday. Greece said Wednesday it will require all visitors, including those from fellow EU countries, to present a Covid test taken within 48 hours of arrival. One day earlier, Italy surprised the bloc with a similar requirement that kicks in on Thursday. Finland didn’t go quite as far. The Nordic country will require travelers from outside the EU and the passport-free Schengen area to present a negative test result from the prior 48 hours. The government is still discussing when to begin enforcing the rule, Krista Kiuru, the minister overseeing the pandemic response, said on Tuesday. The moves, which are a response to fears about the fast-spreading omicron variant, undercut a highly praised element of the EU’s response to the pandemic: the digital Covid certificate that helped travel bounce back in Europe this year. “We need a common approach because crossing the borders, these certificates are the ones that are used,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said in Bloomberg TV interview. “So we definitely need to have a common understanding.” The EU had been planning to use this week’s summit to get an agreement on augmenting the role of the Covid pass and facilitate travel even further. Instead, the bloc criticized Italy for failing to provide advance notice of its testing requirement, as leaders arrive in Brussels.<br/>