Travel to EU countries will be restricted after the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the month because of Covid-19 rules.
Non-essential visits to the EU will be hit by rules with most UK residents facing restrictions on visiting the remaining 27 members of the EU from January 1 when rules permitting free travel within the bloc cease to apply to Britons.
In response to the reports in the Financial Times, a Government spokesperson stated: “We cannot comment on decisions that could be taken by other states on public health matters.
“We take a scientific, risk-based approach to health measures at the border, and it is of course in the interests of all countries to allow safe international travel as we emerge from the pandemic.”
The formal end of the long-running transition period will mean that Britons will be affected by EU regulations that only allow non-essential travel from a very limited number of non-EU countries, the report said.
Most UK citizens would only be able to travel to the EU if individual states make provisions for such a move, or the bloc as a whole lessens its pandemic travel curbs.
However, it has also been reported that UK citizens will still be covered by the EHIC European health card for a time after the end of the transition period.
