EU countries adopt common travel guidelines amid pandemic

European Union countries on Tuesday approved a series of guidelines aimed at facilitating free movement across bloc and avoiding furr disruption during coronavirus pandemic.

During a meeting in Luxembourg, envoys for 27 member states agreed on a common approach to travel restrictions and testing to help citizens and workers get more clarity on how y can transit across continent.

In March, several EU nations hastily closed ir borders in an attempt to stop spre of virus, even though EU’s Schengen agreement allows residents to move freely between countries without visas. action blocked traffic and medical equipment.

“ COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our daily lives in many ways. Travel restrictions have me it difficult for some of our citizens to get to work, to university or to visit ir loved ones," said Michael Roth, German minister for Europe. “It is our common duty to ensure coordination on any measures which affect free movement and to give our citizens all information y need when deciding on ir travel."

Member states agreed to provide coronavirus data to European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which will publish a weekly map sorting regions according to severity of coronavirus outbreaks.

criteria used to define colored zones — green, orange and red — are number of newly tified cases per 100,000 in past 14 days as well as testing rate and test positivity rate in past week.

Member states agreed that y should t restrict free movement of people traveling from or to green areas, but national EU governments will continue to set ir own restrictions such as quarantines or mandatory testing upon arrival for people coming from orange or red zones.

A region will be classified as green if 14-day tification rate is lower than 25 and test positivity rate below 4%. Under criteria opted Tuesday, most EU regions would be eir red or orange.

“This agreement avoids border closures and favors least penalizing health control measures, such as testing,” said Clement Beaune, French minister for Europe. “Last but t least, essential movements, especially those of frontier workers, will be secured.”

EU council said member states should t deny access to persons traveling from or EU nations and urged m to “respect differences in epidemiological situation between orange and red areas and act in a proportionate manner" if y decide to apply restrictions.

EU countries also agreed to provide timely information to ir neighbors about new restrictions — if possible 48 hours in vance — and to develop a harmonized passenger locator form for all means of transport.

guidelines are t legally binding as border controls and health matters remain responsibility of national governments,