Germany will today try to ban British tourists from entering the European Union regardless of vaccination status, according to reports.
Last week, EU leaders agreed to step up coordination of travel restrictions, after German chancellor Angela Merkel warned them at a Brussels summit on Thursday that the continent was “on thin ice” in its battle to keep out the Delta variant of Covid-19.
French president Emmanuel Macron has also backed quarantine for non-vaccinated British visitors, calling for a “harmonised” response.
It comes as holidaymakers in the UK were given a shimmer of hope in last Thursday’s traffic light travel review when Malta, the Balearics and Madeira were among the destinations added to the green list of places from where returning travellers need not quarantine.
However, only Malta went “full” green, with the rest slapped on the “green watchlist”, meaning they are at risk of turning amber.
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Ms Merkel wants to label the UK as a “country of concern” due to the widespread presence of the Delta variant, The Times reported.
The plans will reportedly be discussed by senior European and national officials on the EU’s integrated political crisis response committee, but are likely to be resisted by some tourism-dependent southern European nations.
All British visitors to Germany must quarantine for 14 days, regardless of vaccination status.
The UK is not on the EU “white list”, a register of “safe” nations from where tourists are welcome. However, European nations dependent on tourism such as Portugal, Spain and Greece have previously broken ranks to welcome British holidaymakers.
The EU’s vaccine passport, the “digital green pass”, is due to come into effect from 1 July.
It will allow European Union citizens and residents — vaccinated or not — to travel freely across the 27-nation bloc, and will show details of vaccinations, test results and recovery from Covid.
