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Danish government to propose ending Covid-19 travel restrictions for vaccinated persons

The government wants to allow Danes and foreign nationals who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to be allowed to travel in and out of the country without being subject to quarantine or testing rules.

Published: 13 April 2021 15:47 CEST
Danish government to propose ending Covid-19 travel restrictions for vaccinated persons
File photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

Foreign-based partners of people who live in Denmark could also be subject to more lenient travel rules, even if not vaccinated, under new rules drafted by the government.

The eased restrictions would apply to persons from “yellow” countries in the EU and Schengen area, including tourists, according to a draft proposal seen by news wire Ritzau.

A “yellow” country signifies one considered to have an acceptable incidence of Covid-19 variants for travel and a new model outlined in the proposal. “Orange” and “red” countries would have higher incidences, with “red” countries described as having “concerning variants of Covid-19”, according to the draft.

The rule change would be subject to it being considered safe at the time of its implementation. Travellers would be required to provide documentation of having been vaccinated.

The draft is subject to change during negotiations between the government and the other parties, whose backing would be needed to pass it.

But the Liberal party, the main party in opposition, has said it wants to provide for international travel to resume as soon as possible.

“We want everyone who is vaccinated to be able to leave the country right now and go on holiday,” the party’s foreign policy spokesperson Michael Aastrup Jensen said.

The draft proposal also includes a provision for easier business travel, with business travellers allowed to return to workplaces after travel without having to isolate first. That would come into effect on April 21st.

This date would also see the list of so-called “worthy reasons” (anerkendelsesværdige formål) for travel extended, potentially allowing international students, partners of people resident in Denmark and owners of summer houses to enter the country more easily.

Current travel restrictions expire on April 20th, meaning a deal for new or extended restrictions must be agreed by that date.

The draft also envisages an EU-wide “corona passport” facilitating travel within the bloc by June 26th.

READ ALSO: EU vaccine chief hopes for tourism boost as he unveils Covid-19 passport prototype

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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