EU countries are advised by the Commission to prohibit non-essential travel from the UK because of the current COVID variant

In view of the latest COVID variant found in England, the EU Commission has introduced a new recommendation for the Member States, urging them to prohibit non-essential travel from the UK.

The latest Advice on a Structured Approach to Travel and Transport Measures for Arrivals from the United Kingdom recommends that Member States take swift temporary precautionary measures to prevent the new form of the virus from spreading further.

Although the Commission advises that all non-necessary travel to and from the United Kingdom should be discouraged, it also directs the EU-27 countries and the Schengen Related Countries to discontinue train and flight prohibitions as a result of the need to ensure essential travel and to prevent interruption of the supply chain.

Commenting on the recommendation, Didier Reynders, EU Commissioner for Justice, noted that it is important for Member States to take concerted steps to prevent non-essential travel between the United Kingdom and the EU as a result of the new strain of the virus.

"At the same time, blanket travel prohibitions should not prevent the return of thousands of EU and UK citizens to their homes," he added.

The Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, also stressed the importance of organizing the initiatives for the Member States on the basis of the "solid recommendations" which the Commission has established continuously since March.

"Our actions must be coordinated to be effective, and today we are facilitating swift action to tackle the new variant of coronavirus while ensuring that essential journeys can still take place," she said.

Although the United Kingdom ceases to be an EU country at the end of December 31, the laws of free movement still apply to British citizens until then.

The Commission therefore suggests that the Member States refrain from enforcing entry bans on British citizens and, instead, impose bans on non-essential travel only for those traveling to the EU.

'Citizens of the Union and of the United Kingdom traveling to their Member State or country of residence, as well as third-country nationals enjoying the right to free movement in the EU, should be exempted from additional temporary restrictions provided that they are subjected to a screening or quarantine,' states the Commission.

It also recommends that travelers who have an essential function in the country to which they travel should be allowed to enter without being quarantined, but only by undergoing an RT-PCR test or a rapid antigen test within 72 hours before departure, medical staff and transport staff (ship, vehicle or aircraft).

Transit passengers should also be able to access the EU for transit purposes, while checking may also be appropriate in such cases.

Finally, in line with the Green Lanes and Air Freight Contact, the Commission strongly recommends that cargo flows proceed uninterrupted.

Furthermore, the Commission notices that the United Kingdom will become a third country from 1 January onwards and that the Member States will begin to enforce the Recommendation on the temporary restriction of non-essential travel to the EU for persons travelling from the United Kingdom, in view of the end of the transition period. In theory, therefore, only important trips from the United Kingdom can take place.