Angela Merkel has said she is prepared to relax Germany’s restrictions on British travellers arriving in the country “in the foreseeable future”, as she made her final visit to the UK as Chancellor.
The move signals a reversal of the tough stance spearheaded by Merkel to force all Brits to quarantine for 14 days on arrival across the EU, in an effort to contain the spread of the Delta variant.
Tourist hubs such as Greece, Spain and Portugal have rebelled against the plan which now looks set to be watered down to allow vaccinated Brits to travel freely without needing to quarantine.
There had been fears that up to five million Brits might not qualify for the exemption because AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in India are not yet authorised by the European Medicines Agency. Â
Australia and New Zealand open doors to UK trade
The UK’s first post-Brexit trade deals came into force today, even as a highly-prized agreement with the US remains elusive.
