The President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, estimated that American tourists will be able to travel to the 27 member countries of the Union if they are vaccinated against Covid-19, since the United States uses vaccines approved by the EMA.

New rules that could be put in place this summer.

Tourists from the United States will be allowed to visit the European Union in the coming months, provided they are vaccinated against Covid-19, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said on Sunday in an interview with

New York Times

. "Americans, from what I can see, use vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA)," she said. "This will allow free movement and travel to the European Union". "Because one thing is clear: the 27 member states will accept, unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines approved by the EMA," Ursula Von der Leyen assured the New York daily.

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The president of the European Commission has not released a specific timetable, but the

New York Times

has indicated that the new rules could be put in place as early as this summer, as vaccinations intensify around the world. 

70% of adults vaccinated by mid-June in the USA

The European Medicines Agency has approved the three vaccines in use in the United States: Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson. Pointing to the "enormous progress" of the United States, Ursula Von der Leyen noted that they were on track to vaccinate 70% of their adult population by mid-June. The resumption of travel would depend "on the epidemiological situation, but the situation is improving in the United States, like, we hope, the European Union" she added.      

The pandemic has devastated the tourism industry on the European continent, as evidenced by the closure of borders to non-essential travel introduced by several countries in the Union.Last week, Greece - whose economy depends heavily on the income generated by tourism - said travelers from the EU and five other countries would be exempt from mandatory quarantine on arrival, provided they are vaccinated against Covid-19, or can test negative for coronavirus screening.

The European Union is considering setting up a health passport that it would like to launch this summer for travel within it.