A collection of 15 posts
The European Commission (EC) is about to release the EUR 36bn Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) funds to Poland that were suspended over disagreements regarding the independence of the country’s judiciary. The EU will release the grants and loans on condition that Poland dismantles its disciplinary judicial chamber and
As some countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) relax Coronavirus restrictions, others remain cautious, with Czechia in the first camp, while Estonia is in the second. As Czechia lifts the requirement to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and mass gatherings, Estonia has u-turned on a similar plan
The European Commission (EC) on Thursday announced its intension to extend the validity of EU Digital COVID Certificates by another year, to 30 June 2023. The EC said the move will ensure that travellers can continue to use their certificate when travelling inside EU member states that maintain certain public
Austria will delay its controversial mandatory vaccination programme by two months until April for technical reasons, electronic health record office ELGA GmbH, which is overseeing the process, announced Friday. The news came as scepticism rose in Austria’s epidemiological and academic communities regarding the programme. Karl Stoger, a member of
A report by a European travel industry group says Europe’s travel industry is recovering this year, but the continent has a long way to go before it will see pre Covid pandemic levels of guest arrivals. While the 2021 summer tourism season saw decent numbers, according to the latest
Latvia has announced a month-long COVID lockdown after a surge in infections and hospitalisations, becoming the first EU country to reintroduce the strict conditions in place across much of Europe earlier in the year. In the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, Latvia received praise for its successful response. However
US authorities were called by European airlines on Wednesday to set a date for reopening and to agree a list of mutually recognized coronavirus vaccines. Earlier in September, US president Joe Biden promised to make the reopening reality in November, primarily for EU citizens. Washington is planning to check full
As the next wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hits Bulgaria, the government has had to impose tighter restrictions. On Tuesday, the country saw 120 coronavirus deaths and is registering 2000 new cases daily. Restaurants and cafes in Bulgaria are being forced to close by 11pm, their tables limited to six
By the end of August, EU member Croatia and two of its Southern neighbors down the Adriatic coast, Montenegro and Albania, had happily concluded what was an excellent tourist season for those countries so far this year. Revenues from tourism are giving a significant boost to their economies, much needed
Wizz Air is to require all its flights’ crews to be vaccinated against coronavirus by December 2021. The airline said the decision was taken on health and safety grounds and to ensure the “smooth” operation of services over the long term. It is understood to be the first European carrier
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, allegedly pledged his allegiance to the European Union and admitted that Hungary is not likely to receive EU COVID-19 recovery funding on time at this past weekend’s “Kötcse” political picnic, an annual closed-circle gathering of people close to the government. According to sources
Amid the growing COVID-19 Delta variant threat in Europe, the Romanian government wants to boost its vaccination campaign. Currently, Romania, along with Bulgaria, has one of the lowest vaccination rates across the European Union with only 26.3% of the population fully vaccinated. With the school year about to start,
Stricter COVID-19 health requirements are set to go back into effect on US citizens traveling to Europe, with an announcement likely to be made today. Now, those coming from America who are unvaccinated must once again undergo covid testing and/or quarantine when entering the European Union. Still, individual EU
Hungary will allow Russian visitors to visit if they possess a Covid-19 immunity certificate as of Tuesday, 3 August, foreign minister Péter Szijjártó has announced. The measure comes in response to Russia’s recent decision to resume issuing tourist and business visas to Hungarian citizens who hold a negative PCR
Bulgaria is closing its borders to four more countries due to spikes in COVID-19 cases: the Netherlands, Malta, Andorra and Georgia. The list already included Great Britain, Spain, Cyprus and Kuwait among others. Bulgarian citizens coming from those counties are allowed entry into the country only with a PCR test