Ambassadors back plan to allow vaccinated UK tourists to visit EU this summer

By PA Reporters

EU ambassadors are understood to have backed plans to allow vaccinated UK holidaymakers to visit the bloc this summer.

They recommended at a meeting on Wednesday that rules should be changed to allow non-essential visits into the EU by people who have had two doses of a coronavirus vaccine.

It will be up to individual member states to decide if they will accept proof of vaccination to waive travel restrictions.

A decision on whether to add the UK and other countries to the EU’s “safe list” will be made on Friday.

Travellers from locations on the list are permitted to enter the bloc even if they are not vaccinated, but are generally required to show evidence of a recent negative test.

There are currently only eight countries on the list, including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Israel.

Portugal and Greece are among the countries that have broken ranks by already welcoming UK tourists, but an EU-wide move would boost the chances of a major summer getaway.

UK holidaymakers are currently prohibited from visiting Spain due to its ban on inbound leisure visits from outside the EU and Schengen Area.