Unjabbed Brits could be BANNED from travelling to the EU next summer

Britons face banned from travelling into the EU unless they are fully vaccinated against Covid under new rules being hammered out in Brussels today. 

Under the plans, which would affect any tourist from outside the bloc, the 'white list' of approved countries would be scrapped in favour of making travel dependent on the vaccination status of the traveller.

Those fully jabbed with an EU-approved vaccine - which includes AstraZeneca and Pfizer - would be allowed to travel freely, provided their last dose was within the last nine months. Those with 'expired' jabs would need a booster shot.

Children, those who have recovered from the virus, people travelling for essential reasons and those jabbed with a WHO-approved vaccine would also be allowed but may require a pre-departure PCR test, Bloomberg reports.

The rules are likely to be phased in, and take full in effect by March. The same rules would then be rolled out to EU citizens travelling within the bloc from next summer. 

Detailed plans are set to be published later today, and it will then be up to each member state whether to implement them. 

It comes as the continent tries to control a rising wave of Covid infections, with leaders targeting the unvaccinated for the harshest measures. 

The European Commission wants to harmonise rules across the 27 EU nations to allow free movement, a cornerstone of the European Union, but is facing new restrictions as cases break records amid flagging vaccination drives.

EU governments, which will need to approve the Commission recommendation, kicked off debate on the topic on Tuesday. 

Greece has proposed people should in future be able to travel freely if they have received a dose in the past six months.

Accepting that immunity wanes over time, the executive Commission is proposing that people should be considered covered if their most recent dose was within the last nine months, an EU official told Reuters.

Given most EU residents who were vaccinated received their final doses in the second and third quarters of 2021, their coverage would mostly expire by the middle of next year.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Wednesday recommended vaccine boosters for all adults, with priority for those over 40, in a major shift from its previous guidance which suggested extra doses for older people and those with weakened immune systems.

EU coordination on COVID passes, showing if a holder is fully vaccinated or has a recent negative test or recovery from infection, has allowed an easing of curbs on cross-border travel.

The passes, typically viewed on mobile devices, are issued by individual countries, but are recognised across the bloc. They are now increasingly being deployed in many EU countries for access to indoor areas such as restaurants or theatres.

Elsewhere in Europe today...

Germany passed 100,000 Covid deaths as infections also hit a new one-day record with fears of a Christmas lockdown rising Europe's combined death toll since the start of the pandemic hit 1.5 million  Italy barred unvaccinated citizens from most indoor hospitality businesses as it tightened the rules for its health pass system  Slovakia went back into full lockdown, with non-essential shops shut and citizens banned from leaving home except to go to work or for emergencies Denmark announced plans for compulsory face masks on public transport and in shops, and asked the health committee to vote the law into force Hospitals in the Netherlands began cancelling chemotherapy treatment and organ transplants to free up intensive care beds for Covid patients

As well as passing the 100,000 deaths mark, Germany also set a new one-day record for Covid cases with almost 76,000 infections logged in 24 hours.  

Hospitals are now warning that intensive care beds are running out, with almost 4,000 already occupied by COVID-19 patients. Some hospitals in the country's south and east have begun transferring patients to other regions. 

The surge has prompted Germany's government-in-waiting to announce the creation of a new permanent expert group to advise officials on how to tackle the pandemic. 

The current government has urged people who were vaccinated more than six months ago to get boosters, while pressuring those who haven't been inoculated to get their first shot.

Many regional leaders have already begun tightening curbs on the unvaccinated in order to drive rates up. 

Officials say 68 per cent of Germany's 83 million inhabitants are fully vaccinated, slightly above the European average of 67 per cent but far below the 75 per cent the government had targeted to prevent future waves of infection.