Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

Coronavirus: Europe in vaccine race to save summer

Coronavirus: Europe in vaccine race to save summer

Europe could be on the brink of a roaring twenties-style summer to remember, with budget airline flights packed and beachside bars brim-full of happy tourists.

Or, it faces another gloomy holiday season of travel restrictions, quarantine rules and a locked-down leisure industry.

In a few weeks from now we will know which it is to be - but the policy decisions which will shape the outcome are already being taken.

One big question is whether EU member states will be content to leave decision-making to the European Commission in Brussels - which has bungled the vaccine-buying programme - or simply take matters into their own hands.

Greece, for example, has already struck a deal to welcome tourists from Israel if they have a vaccine passport.

And Cyprus has said it will welcome British tourists from 1 May, as long as they have had two doses of any vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The Director-General of the Cyprus Hotels Association, Philokypros Roussonides, told the BBC: "We are really delighted with this development. It's going to be really effective and very good for airlines to schedule their flights. Cyprus is traditionally a very popular destination for British tourists."

Larnaca, Cyprus in July 2020. Hotels hope for a much better summer this year

Tourism jobs at stake


What is at stake here is not just the issue of whether wealthy northern Europeans get to enjoy a beer or an ice cream on the beach.

Tourism is big business, providing 27m jobs in Europe, and generating around 10% of the EU's GDP, when you take into account the other sectors which depend on it.

The economies of countries like Greece, Spain and Italy cannot recover until the tourist industry is reopened.

The GDP of the Balearic Islands - which include Majorca - fell by 27% last year. If a second summer season is lost to Covid-19 the consequences will be disastrous.

A tourism official in Majorca described the situation as "unsustainable" and said that if tourists were not allowed to return, many local business would disappear.

Saving the summer depends on two Europe-wide problems: getting people vaccinated and then agreeing rules about whether or not the right to travel should be linked to your vaccination status.

The chief economist of the Bank of Spain, Oscar Arce, told the Spanish newspaper El País: "If the vaccination levels are high in June, the tourist season will be saved. But if it's delayed to the end of the summer the economy will suffer a great deal. In those three months of radical uncertainty we have a lot at stake."

Slow vaccine rollout


So far at least the omens are not good.

AstraZeneca was criticised by the EU for failing to meet delivery targets

By the end of this week only 4.96% of Belgians and 5.5% of Germans have had at least one vaccine dose.

The Politico news service produced a fascinating calculation this week, showing that if the vaccination rollout continues at the current rate, Belgium won't reach the threshold of protecting 70% of its population until July 2023.

The date calculated for Germany was September 2022.

That would suggest we should be asking about the holiday prospects for next year or the year after - not this July or August.

Now of course the Belgian and German governments - and the European Commission - would argue that the rollout is going to gather pace as supplies improve and new vaccines are approved. And so it might.

But what those figures show is that the vaccination programme so far in the EU has been a disaster. Less than 10% of the EU population has been vaccinated so far, against 31% in the UK and 52% in Israel.


The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, admitted last month that the EU was "not where it wanted to be" on vaccinations. But German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz was widely reported to have summed things up more succinctly, telling a meeting that the EU rollout was a "total" horror show (using ruder word than "horror").

The slow vaccine rollout has been a political embarrassment for the European Commission, which took over responsibility from individual member states and then fell far behind other countries like the United States and Israel.

It cannot afford a second failure on vaccine passports, but so far the signs are not encouraging.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has suggested that the technical work on the issue - what sort of information a passport should show and how it might be collected and stored - could be complete in three months.

But the problems with vaccine passports are political and ethical, rather than technical.

Mrs Merkel said it was not the EU's intention that only people with vaccine passports should be allowed to travel, adding "absolutely no political decisions have been made about that yet".

Discrimination fears


Some countries including France, where as many as 40% of adults may refuse a vaccination, are uncomfortable with creating rights for those who have had the jab - rights which are not available to those who have not.

Spain, desperate to get tourism moving again, has already said it won't restrict the right of entry to travellers who have been inoculated.

But if Chancellor Merkel is right, and freedom of movement is not restricted to those who have a vaccine passport, then travellers may feel there is no point in carrying one.

Huge political decisions are looming for Europe - freedom of movement is one of the founding principles of the EU.

If those decisions are going to help save this summer then the time to take them is already running short.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
China Accuses US of Violating Trade Truce
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
France Implements Nationwide Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
British Fishing Boat Owner Fined €30,000 by French Authorities
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
×