Le nombre de cas de Covid-19 confirmés en France ont augmenté de 54% en une semaine seulement.

Paris, April 27 (RHC)-- Americans will be able to travel to the EU this summer when the bloc’s nations reopen for tourism, the head of the European Commission has said – but only those who show proof of vaccination with an “approved” jab will be let in.

In what seems to be an indication of how lives will never return to pre-pandemic norms, the European Commission president suggested that some sort of COVID-19 vaccination certificates will indeed be necessary for would-be travelers from the United States.

“All 27 member states will accept, unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines that are approved by EMA,” Ursula von der Leyen told the New York Times.  Travelers will have to be fully vaccinated, not just have the first jab of a two-dose inoculation, the Times’ interview clarifies. 

In just what form the Americans would have to present the evidence of vaccination, von der Leyen did not say, but the EU-US talks on the use of vaccine certificates – often referred to as “vaccine passports” – have been ongoing.

Luckily for some Americans, the three vaccines that have been approved for use in the U.S. – made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – have also been blessed by the European Medicines Agency. The EMA has also approved AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, which is still awaiting emergency use authorization in the United States.

“The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines… This will enable free movement and the travel to the European Union,” von der Leyen told the Times.

While the reopening of travel to Europe after more than a year of bans will come as good news to many, the vaccine passport could be a bridge too far for some to cross.  Von der Leyen’s comments have provoked an instant wave of negative reaction from those not happy with what they consider a “dystopian” image of travel.

Travel writer Barbara Wayman called the requirement for proof of vaccination "tyranny," while other social media users said the move was reminiscent of Nazi Germany demanding that people present their "papers."