EU Recommends Opening Borders to Israeli Visitors Uri Cohen
Decision aimed at boosting summer tourism to COVID-ravaged continent
The European Council on Thursday announced it had added Israel to the select list of countries whose citizens will be allowed to enter the 27 EU member states with limited restrictions.
“Following a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on nonessential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted to add Israel,” the Council’s statement read.
Israel will join Australia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and China as the only countries from which visitors can arrive for leisure purposes.
Daniel Sonnenfeld 02/15/2021
Citizens eager for stamps on their “green passports” will have to wait for a decrease in case numbers in the country and abroad, says Foreign Ministry
Israelis for whom the privilege of international travel was a prime motivator to getting vaccinated against the novel coronavirus may be in for a disappointment. While the Foreign Ministry has discussed resuming travel with some countries, a launch date for the resumption of flights has yet to be set. “It all depends on the number of cases,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman told The Media Line.
Israel’s vaccine rollout has received worldwide coverage, as the small Middle Eastern country managed to jab its citizens with the vaccine at record speed. Around 3.9 million Israelis have received their first shot, pushing the vaccinated proportion of the population past 40%.