From January 1, 2021, the UK will be included in the list of countries to which the European Union is banning travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is stated in the message of the European Commission, which was published on Tuesday, December 22.
“Until the end of December, the rules of free movement remain in place in the UK. This means that EU Member States should in principle not deny entry to persons from the United Kingdom. After the end of the transition period, the UK will be subject to the recommendation of the EU Council on the temporary limitation of non-essential travel to the EU and the possible lifting of such a limitation, ”the message says.
It is noted that restrictions will not prevent British citizens from returning home.
On the eve of December 21, the EU denied information about a ban on travel of EU citizens to the UK due to the spread of a new strain of coronavirus in the kingdom.
Air traffic with Great Britain was suspended by more than 35 countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Ireland, Israel, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Estonia, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Iran. Russia has suspended flights with the UK since December 22.
Earlier, on December 19, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strain identified in the south of Great Britain is more infectious. According to the politician, the initial signs of the spread of the new variant of the virus indicate that it is 70% more infectious than the original strain.