Recommendation 2022/2547 - Amendment of Recommendation (EU) 2022/107 on a coordinated approach to facilitate safe free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 328/138

On 25 January 2022, the Council adopted Recommendation (EU) 2022/107 (1). Recommendation (EU) 2022/107 follows a ‘person-based’ approach regarding restrictions to free movement linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, by providing that a person who is in the possession of a valid certificate issued on the basis of Regulation (EU) 2021/953 of the European Parliament and the Council (2) (‘EU Digital COVID Certificate’) should in principle not be subject to additional restrictions, such as tests or quarantine, regardless of their place of departure in the Union. Persons who are not in possession of a valid EU Digital COVID Certificate could be required to undergo a test prior to or no later than 24 hours after arrival. Recommendation (EU) 2022/107 also adapted the methodology of the traffic light map indicating the epidemiological situation at regional level across the Union established by Council Recommendation (EU) 2020/1475 (3) and published weekly by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

On 25 November 2021, when the Commission adopted its proposal (4) for what would become Recommendation (EU) 2022/107, the epidemiological situation concerning the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly different from today. At that point in time, the Delta variant of concern was still prevalent in the Union. More than ten months later, the highly transmissible Omicron variant has – in the form of different sub-variants – become the dominant variant in the Union.

Omicron is less severe than the previously observed Delta variant, which can be attributed at least partially to the protective effect of vaccination and previous infection (5). As a result, and in combination with higher levels of protection resulting from vaccination and prior infection, pressure on healthcare systems currently remains at manageable levels, even during momentary peaks of infections such as the wave driven by the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants observed during the summer of 2022.

Any free movement restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are not to extend beyond what is strictly necessary to safeguard public health. As noted in points 1 and 2 of Recommendation (EU) 2022/107, any such restrictions should, in accordance with the principles of necessity and proportionality, be lifted as soon as the epidemiological situation allows. By August 2022, all Member States had lifted all measures affecting free movement of persons in the Union, including the requirement for travellers to hold an EU Digital COVID Certificate.

Therefore the approach set out in Recommendation (EU) 2022/107 should be adapted. In particular, that Recommendation should be amended to provide that Member States should in principle not impose any pandemic-related restrictions to the free movement of persons on the grounds of public health. The summer wave of 2022 exemplifies how high virus circulation, following the emergence of a new variant of concern, does not necessarily lead to substantial pressure on national healthcare systems. This highlights the importance of a prudent approach when considering the introduction of restrictions to the free movement of persons based on the number of cases or on the presence of a new...