Travellers must show Covid test despite EC not wanting barriers
Presenting a negative diagnostic test result will become mandatory for all passengers flying to Portugal as of December 1, regardless of the point of origin and passenger's nationality.
The European Commission reiterated on Monday that member states must “refrain from undue barriers” to vaccinated and recovered Covid-19 passengers on the day Portugal informed Brussels of a testing requirement for all travellers.
“We have received a notification about new measures for travel that Portugal plans to introduce from 1 December [next Wednesday],” said the EU executive’s justice spokesman.
“We will now carefully analyse the information provided, [but] as a matter of principle member states should refrain from imposing additional restrictions on European Union (EU) Covid-19 Digital Certificate holders, in particular vaccination and recovery, and should inform the Commission 24 hours in advance and other member states 48 hours in advance of any planned measures,” Christian Wigand said.
Days after the Portuguese government announced the imposition of a test on all citizens arriving in the country, Wigand indicated that the information was transmitted “this morning” to the EU executive and would now be analysed, saying he was not aware of “similar measures taken recently by another member state”.
“It is important that member states stick to the coordinated approach to ensure safe and free travel in the EU,” he said.
Also speaking on Portugal’s demand at the daily meeting of the European Commission in Brussels, the institution’s chief spokesman Eric Mamer added it was “paramount that member states discuss and communicate with each other and coordinate their actions”.
“And that, secondly, they continue to implement the measures foreseen in the EU Covid-19 Digital Certificate, in particular when it comes to not imposing undue barriers to travel for those who have been fully vaccinated and have a PCR test or can demonstrate that they have recovered” from the disease, Eric Mamer concluded.
The Portuguese government on Thursday announced new measures to respond to the worsening Covid-19 pandemic in Portugal.
Under the new measures, presenting a negative diagnostic test result will become mandatory for all passengers flying to Portugal as of December 1, regardless of the point of origin and regardless of the passenger’s nationality and even if they carry the EU Covid-19 digital certificate.
This was one of the measures the cabinet approved on Thursday, just hours after the European Commission proposed strengthening coordination on travel in the EU due to increased cases of SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that vaccinated people should not be subject to additional restrictions and that unvaccinated people should be further tested.
