EU Council Recommends Easing Entry Restrictions for Third-Country Residents Vaccinated with WHO-Approved Vaccines

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The 'EU Council,' representing the governments of the 27 member countries of the European Union (EU), recommended on the 23rd (Korean time) lifting entry restrictions on travelers from third countries who have received COVID-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to foreign media reports.

According to reports, the EU Council adopted a recommendation that from the 1st of next month, member countries should allow non-essential entry for people vaccinated with vaccines approved by the EU or WHO and lift temporary restrictions.

This recommendation by the EU Council is not legally binding. Whether to follow the recommendation is up to each member country's decision.

So far, the EU has approved five vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) pharmaceutical subsidiary Janssen, Novavax, and AstraZeneca, a multinational pharmaceutical company producing vaccines within Europe. Subsequently, vaccines from Chinese pharmaceutical companies Sinovac and Sinopharm, Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech, and the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India have also been approved.

Many EU member countries have so far not accepted non-essential entry of third-country citizens vaccinated with vaccines not approved within the EU. However, once this recommendation is applied, restrictions on those vaccinated with Indian and Chinese vaccines will be eased.

However, each member country may require additional measures such as proof of a negative PCR test result or quarantine for some people, including those vaccinated with WHO-approved vaccines.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.