Entry to the EU and Schengen zone to open: will Ukrainians be able to travel?

The European Union raised the issue of tourists crossing the borders of the EU and the Schengen zone because the long quarantine significantly hurt the economy, and, in particular, the tourism sector, one sector that is most affected by restrictions on free movement and other precautions against the spread of coronavirus… This sector generates 10% of EU GDP and represents 12% of the EU workforce, but the COVID-19 crisis has caused losses of 85% to 90% for many economic actors such as hotels and restaurants, tour operators, and transport companies. In 2020, the number of nights spent at tourist accommodation facilities in the EU totaled 1.4 billion, 52% less than in 2019. The hardest hit were Cyprus, Greece, and Malta, where the decline exceeded 70%.

In early May, a draft was published that provides for opening borders for tourists from third countries, including Ukrainians. It's still subject to discussion, but the main provisions may remain unchanged. Until changes have been made to it, and the document itself hasn't been adopted by all EU countries, we can only roughly know under what conditions it will be possible to enter European countries in the next few months.