New Movement Rules Introduced in the EU.

The EU Council approved new recommendations on measures to ensure safe free movement during the pandemic on January 25, 2022.

According to the new strategy, entry restrictions should be applied taking into account the health status of an individual, rather than the epidemiological situation in the region from which they arrived. The key tool for this process is the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EU DCC).

Unvaccinated people are proposed to enter based on test results

A pan-European approach is also proposed for trips of citizens who do not have the EU Digital Certificate (i.e., unvaccinated or vaccinated with vaccines not recognized in the EU). The only sanitary restriction for their entry into the EU territory is the possible testing before the trip or no later than 24 hours after arrival.

Thus, the new EU recommendations potentially allow the entry of unvaccinated or domestically vaccinated Russians into EU countries.

Each EU country decides for itself whether or not to follow the recommendations.

The EU Council recommendation will come into force on February 1. In the EU Council materials, it is emphasized that each EU country can make its own decision on whether to comply with the proposed measures or ignore them.