In line with the EU members’ decision to accept vaccinated foreign travellers, the EU Commission recently came out with a “White List,” naming nine countries. Included in the list are Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Israel, Rwanda, China, Thailand, and New Zealand, which denotes that as of June 04, their respective citizens are allowed to travel in EU-member countries for non-essential purposes, as long as they show proof of have completed their vaccination.

It is anticipated that more will be added to the White List, including the U.S. as soon as protocols governing Vaccination Certificates have been agreed upon.

The EU Commission is set to implement an “EU Digital COVID Certificate” by July first, to serve as official certification of the holder as being fully vaccinated with an EU-approved vaccine. The digital certificate might also contain information that the holder has tested negative for COVID-19 or has fully recovered from the infectious disease. The vaccine brands approved by the EU Commission are Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca.

As far as vaccinated American citizens are concerned, there is still no definite date when they will be able to provide their vaccination information digitally in line with EU’s requirement. As it is, the U.S government has not set up its own digital system equivalent to that of the EU’s.

Nonetheless, there are ongoing talks on how American citizens will be allowed to present other forms of proof of vaccination, in the meantime that the U.S. still doesn’t have the digital technology to issue vaccination certifications.

EU Commission Issues a “Roadmap” for Travels Outside of EU Member Countries

The European Union has also implemented a “roadmap” that serves as a recommendation of non-EU countries allowing vaccinated travellers to enter while visiting the continent. The roadmap takes into consideration that every nation has its own set of “emergency brake mechanisms” in case of another outbreak. If a new COVID-19 outbreak happens, this mechanism would close borders, regardless if the country is a destination point or country of origin.