Fully Vaccinated Americans May Be Able to Travel to Europe As Soon As this Summer

Vaccinated Americans who are anxious to take a summer vacation in Europe got some good news this weekend.

In an interview with The New York Times on Sunday, Ursula von de Leyen, president of the European Commission, said that because Americans are being vaccinated with “European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines” that “this will enable free movement and the travel to the European Union.”

There is no timetable for the lifting of travel restrictions, but Von de Leyen’s comments do provide some momentum towards an opening up of borders, which have generally been closed since March of last year.

“One thing is clear,” Von de Leyen told the Times, “All 27 member states will accept, unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines that are approved by EMA.”

EMA’s approved vaccines include those developed by Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Johnson and Johnson.

When things do open up, the E.U. is planning to require proof of vaccination with digital health certificates, which will record a person’s COVID-19 health or vaccination status, including recording persons who have recovered from the virus. That certificate is being called a “Digital green certificate.”