London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 01, 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

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
×