Background information

Ahead of the 1 March 2021 Extraordinary meeting of Ministers of Tourism, 14 European stakeholders in aviation and tourism have urged the Portuguese presidency of the EU to put their efforts into the coordination of all restrictive measures related to COVID-19.

According to their view unilateral approaches implemented by the Member States inevitably risk harming the EU both economically and socially. A clear set of coordinated measures will help restore public confidence and is the only chance to save the upcoming summer season. Failure to do so could lead to hundreds of thousands of additional job losses across Europe.

The signatories: Airline Catering Association (ACA), Airline Coordination Platform (ACP), Airlines for Dialogue (A4D), Airlines for Europe (A4E), Airport Services Association (ASA), Airports Council International – Europe (ACI Europe), Air Traffic Controllers European Union Coordination (ATCEUC), Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), European Cockpit Association (ECA), European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT), European Regions Airline Association (ERA), Europeans for Fair Competition (E4FC), European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), UNI Europa.

Content of measure

The associations call for EU harmonization on the following matters:

• widespread use of affordable, reliable and rapid tests to ease current travel restrictions;
• termination of quarantine requirements for air travellers that have already tested negative;
• clarity on the timing, languages, and exemptions to COVID-19 tests which remains unclear;
• exemption of vaccinated travellers from testing, quarantine, and other restrictions;
• use of vaccinations not as a pre-requisite to travel, but to assist in the restart of air travel.

Additionally, set of rules concerning following topics is needed:

• Form and requirements for vaccination documentation and/or certificates should be urgently agreed upon between Member States so forms can be issued as the vaccine roll-out accelerates.
• Airlines, airports and their workers must not be responsible nor liable for checking the proper sanitary documentation for embarking passengers.

Use of measure

n.a.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Other groups of workers	Sector specific set of companies	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government EU level social partners EU (Council, EC, EP)	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Direct consultation outside a formal body	Direct consultation outside a formal body

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: EU level

Involvement

Social partners have jointly designed the desired activities. The monitoring and implementation phase is with governments and the EU.

Views and reactions

The view of the social partners is supportive of their own initiative.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 24 February 2021: European aviation and tourism requires a coordinated approach to cross-border travel (www.etf-europe.org)