British travellers risk being locked out of EU if coronavirus infections rise

British tourists could be forced to quarantine or take Covid-19 tests when travelling to EU countries under new bloc-wide rules and, if coronavirus infections increase, face being locked out of the bloc after the end of the Brexit transition period.

EU member states and the European Commission began preliminary discussions on agreeing a standardised colour system, infection rate threshold and harmonised approach to travellers from high-risk areas for the bloc on Monday. They do not involve the UK, which will be treated as a non-EU country from January 1.

“European challenges require European coordination,” a commission spokesman said on Tuesday, before adding that the plans were “welcomed” by national diplomats.

The commission said that any decision on travel restrictions would be for individual countries to make, but urged EU governments to commit to the same “common criteria” when introducing them.

The EU has banned all non-essential travel to the bloc from non-EU countries. Eleven countries, including Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, but not the US, are exempt. China will be exempt if it lifts a similar ban. The UK has not implemented the ban and, because it shares the Common Travel Area with Britain, neither has Ireland.

Brussels’ recommendations say that EU members should not refuse entry to people travelling from other member states, even if they arrive from high-risk zones, but that they could require quarantine or Covid-19 tests.

Britain is being treated as an EU member state until the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31 but is not allowed to take part in meetings discussing the new approach. Once the UK has left the Customs Union and Single Market at the end of the year, it will be treated as a non-EU country.

Before introducing travel restrictions, the commission wants EU countries to consider how many new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in an area there are over two weeks, the percentage of positive tests carried out over seven days and the number of tests per 100,000 people carried out over seven days.

Member states are expected to submit weekly data to a centre, which informs their colour on a map of EU countries and their closest European allies, such as Switzerland and Norway.

“Orange” areas will be those where the total number of newly notified cases is fewer than 50 per 100,000 people during a 14-day period, but the percentage of positive tests from all tests is 3 percent.

Places where the total number of new cases are between 25 and 150 but the positive test rate is less than 3 percent would also be classified as orange.

Red zones would be where new cases are more than 50 over 14 days and the percentage of positive tests is 3 percent or more, or when the total number of new infections is more than 150 per 100,000 people during a 14-day period.

An EU diplomat described the commission plans as “laudable” and said there would be increased coordination and communication between member states after border restrictions were reintroduced in the passport-free Schengen Zone at the height of the crisis.

“But this will never be a process where we all agree this is when this becomes a red state and then restrictions will be triggered automatically,” the diplomat said, “Member states are clear they consider the assessment of risk and decision on restrictions will remain their own.”

Discussions were at an early stage and any decision was a long way off, the diplomat said.

Spain's Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Tuesday her government was pushing for a European Union harmonisation of travel measures to limit problems for tourists and tourism operators.

The Spanish government is also discussing with Britain and the EU to take into account indicators other than just the number of cases to make decisions on imposing quarantines on travellers such as the number of tests, the number of symptomatic cases and the number of hospitalised patients, she said.