Someone has finally decided to write an article about the fact that under current COVID-related rules, Britons will not be able to enter the EU from 1 January 2021:
I kept mentioning this to my British friends in the last few weeks that and they thought I was crazy but it is very clear from this European Council decision which formally is a recommendation for member states but most countries have adopted it in verbatim:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32020H0912but most countries have adopted it in verbatim
It is a "recommendation. Is there a list of which countries are implementing it? The LEX article lists maybe 2 who aren’t (although it’s hard to read unless you know the terminology).
Peter wrote:
The LEX article lists maybe 2 who aren’t (although it’s hard to read unless you know the terminology).
It mentions Ireland and Denmark. I’d wager Ireland isn’t part of the agreement to avoid closing the border with Northern Ireland. Denmark for sure will have imposed even stricter national regulations.
wbardorf wrote:
I kept mentioning this to my British friends in the last few weeks that and they thought I was crazy but it is very clear from this European Council decision which formally is a recommendation for member states but most countries have adopted it in verbatim:
Well, what did they think? Either you’re a member of the EU or you’re not. In this respect the EU hasn’t made any other exceptions just because of good relations.
I have found some discussions elsewhere online (ski related, etc) and this whole thing looks uncertain. Switzerland may well disregard this, for example.
Each member country is obliged to check hotel bookings etc of everyone inbound but they can make the allow / not allow in decision alone. This is a recommendation, not a Directive.
The ski industry is worth € billions, for example, and Brits are the biggest travellers to the EU.
This is from another newspaper:
To qualify for the exempt list, countries must have a lower infection rate than the European average on June 15, when infection rates were at rock bottom.
Currently, the list of exempt non-EU countries includes just eight nations where infection rates are much lower than in the UK.
Aside from Australia and New Zealand, the current list includes: South Korea, Japan, Rwanda, Singapore, Thailand and China.
Of those, Japan currently has the highest infection rate of 1.8 cases per 100,000 people, based on a seven-day rolling average.
By comparison, the UK has an infection rate of 22.4 per 100,000 people.
Only two EU countries, Hungary and Croatia, have decided not to apply the travel ban list, the Financial Times reports.
Norway, which is not an EU member state but is part of the extended Schengen border-free zone, has also not applied the list.
But officials in Oslo have already confirmed that Britons who do not live in the country will be banned from entry from January 1, when Brexit takes effect.
Please don’t let this thread sink into another UK-bashing/brexit one, like happens everywhere else, because there is nowhere to move such posts to, so they will be deleted.
Airborne_Again wrote:
It mentions Ireland and Denmark.
Well Ireland is making it up as we go along. We’ve mandatory quarantine for anyone coming into the country from outside the EU or from an non-green listed country (pretty much all of the EU at present), but nobody is checking. You might get a phone call on your mobile phone to ask if you are where you are supposed to be. Most people don’t get a call, and of those who do, most of those calls go unanswered. There is no follow up and no legal consequences.
At present they are still in the process of deciding if people returning home for Christmas from abroad (very common here) have to serve quarantine. Every day were here a different version (Yes, but it will be reduced to 5 days with a clear test…..no it will only be 3 days with a clear test….no you’ll be asked to limit your movement but no quarantine…..no it willl be the full 14 days but we ask you not to come home at all).
So I wouldn’t put too much stock in what we are doing! If we have signed up to this, then we certainly aren’t enforcing any EU ruling on it
Peter wrote:
Switzerland may well disregard this, for example.
Well, Switzerland is not EU. And nobody without a death wish or the desire to experience Corona first hand should set a foot into it in the current situation.
And it appears that the “end battle” within politics now finally will come to a peak in these days when the federal council finally has to take decisions whether to continue watching the country staying on the top of the corona list or wants to react to the figures, which are appalling. Currently, nobody in their normal mind knows anymore what is valid in what canton and this is simply an unacceptable situation. Personally, I expect (and hope for) a lockdown, which should have been imposed in October but latest November already. It appears now that they are again shying away so as not to “ruin” xmas business. Well, what more can ruin Xmas more than if you keep loosing relatives and friends to the plague or spend it in hospital or on a sickbed at home.
Last week alone I have had to come to terms with the loss of 3 people I knew yet again and we fear for the lifes of several who are in severe condition. The responsibility for that lies with the lack of courage of our political lobbyists leaders who do not have the balls to see measures through to some effect.
From here (content appears to be updated continuously)
The EU has published contingency plans in case of the possible collapse of Brexit trade talks with the UK.
The plans aim to ensure basic UK-EU air and road connectivity , as well as allowing the possibility of fishing access to each other’s waters.
So, we will see what happens… this is all very new.
This has just been added
The commission is proposing four contingency measures:
To ensure the provision of “certain air services” between the UK and EU for six months
To allow aviation safety certificates to be used in EU aircraft without disruption to avoid grounding
To ensure basic connectivity for road freight and passenger transport for six months, provided the UK does the same
To allow the possibility of reciprocal fishing access for UK and EU vessels in each other’s waters for one year, or until an agreement is reached
Another thing is that Brits travelling to the EU are likely to need at least 6 months’ validity left on their passport.
This thread is for CV19 related airport and flying restrictions, and licensing / medical issues, so please post all other CV19 related stuff here
“Well Ireland is making it up as we go along”
My rephrasing: “Ireland is responding to a constantly changing situation”
The funny Q is what happens if an FAA medical holder in the UK takes the Pfizer vaccine which is not approved in the US by the FDA (and may never be, since the US is probably not buying any of it)
This is no longer an issue – the US FDA has approved the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine.
They approved it even before approving the US-based Moderna one.
Political interference is alleged…
