In a meeting held in Brussels on Wednesday, the European Union (EU) member states agreed to reopen the borders to the fully vaccinated people, reported AFP quoting sources. Diplomats also agreed to raise the level of new COVID-19 cases in a country for it to be declared unsafe.

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The level of new cases in the country is the measure that would determine the opening of travel into the 27-member European Union. The recommendations will be adopted by EU ministers on Friday, the sources said, AFP reported.

Non-essential travel into the EU, barring a few countries that are deemed safe because of low rates of COVID-19 cases, is currently banned. But businesses in the continent are reopening as COVID restrictions are phased out, and bars, hotels and restaurants are worried about the summer tourist trade.

Diplomats said that, under the new rules, travellers who could demonstrate that they had received the required number of doses of an EU-approved vaccine could enter the EU.

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In addition to that, the number of cases per 100,000 people that a country could register over two weeks and still be considered for the green list will rise from 25 to 75. This would still exclude non-vaccinated travellers from much of the world but could allow travel from, for example, Britain, which is well-advanced in its vaccination campaign.