Moldova included by EU in revised list of third countries for whose citizens removal of travel restrictions is recommended

Chisinau, 1 July /MOLDPRES/ - The European Union on 1 July 2021 updated the list of third countries, whose residents should not be affected by the temporary restrictions applied in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic at the EU’s external borders as regards the non-essential travels. Moldova, along with other countries, was included in this list. The travel restrictions are to be gradually removed by the European Union member states, the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry’s (MAEIE) press service has reported.   

At the same time, the list approved at the level of EU has status of recommendation applicable for 25 out of 27 European Union member states. The concerned recommendation is not applied directly, but is to be implemented through individual decisions by the European Union member states and the ones of the Schengen Area.  

Denmark did not participate in the adoption of the recommendation, but can decide on applying it. Also, Ireland did not participate in the recommendation’s adoption and is not connected with its provisions. Additionally, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway are to apply the recommendation as member states of the Schengen Area.   

In the context, Moldova’s citizens and those with legal residence in Moldova will be able to make non-essential travels to the states of the Schengen Area, by possessing a negative result of the PCR test for diagnosing COVID-19 in the form demanded by the authorities of the destination state, made no earlier than by 72 hours before the crossing of the concerned state’s border.    

The following categories of people will be exempted from the obligation to have a negative result of the PCR test for diagnosing Covid-19: the transports’ sector’s staff, cross-border employees and the people vaccinated against Covid-19, if the destination state accepts the proof of vaccination.

In this respect, the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry  recommends the consulting, at the stage of planning a travel, the weekly alerts published on the webpage of the Foreign Affairs Ministry at the section, Travel in safety: MAEIE explains the restrictions of travel abroad, as well as the policies of the air, road and railway passenger transport.   

At the same time, the requirements applied in the context of the free visa regime with EU remain valid, including the holding of the valid biometric passport, confirming the destination and purpose of the travel, health insurance and sufficient financial means.

Moldova was included in the European Union’s list, in the context of the improvement of the pandemic situation related to Covid-19, especially as regards the overall number of new cases recorded related to 100,000 residents during 14 days, the stable tendency or the decreasing one as to the appearance of new cases, the testing rate and the rate of positive tests. The aforementioned list is updated once in two weeks. If the epidemiological situation is worsening, Moldova might be excluded from this list.    

In this respect, MAEIE attracts attention that Moldova’s inclusion in the revised list of the third countries for which the travel restrictions should be removed and the recognition in the EU member states of the vaccination certificates issued by Moldova represent two separate processes, which do not replace each other.   

Moldova’s diplomacy, in cooperation with the national authorities, continue promoting the goal of recognizing the Moldovan vaccination certificates by the EU member states through a unilateral decision by an EU member state or through a bilateral agreement with Moldova.

At the same time, discussions are held with European Commission’s representatives, in order to clear up the future procedure of equalizing at the level of the European Union of the certificates issued in the third states with the EU’s digital certificate on COVID.  

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