LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - Britain is working with countries
across the European Union to encourage them to accept its fully
vaccinated travellers, its business minister said on Thursday,
as momentum builds for a fuller reopening of travel from the
United Kingdom.
Throughout May and June Britain has only permitted very
limited quarantine-free travel, but the government has said that
it will set out details this month of plans to allow fully
vaccinated people avoid self-isolation on return from top
destinations like Spain and France.
That rule change will come in by July 26, the first full
week of the school holidays, The Times newspaper reported.
However, travel for those from Britain will also depend on
countries allowing them in, and concern about a rise in the UK's
COVID cases sparked by the Delta variant has prompted Italy,
Portugal and Spain to tighten their entry requirements.
British business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said there were
talks with EU countries to ensure travel could take place.
"We feel that the double vaccination does provide really,
really first class support and protection against the variant,
all the evidence suggests that, and we need to speak to EU
governments and other countries to make that case," he told Sky
News.
Britain is close to agreeing a deal with Brussels whereby
its National Health Service (NHS) app would be accepted as proof
of a double vaccination by the EU, and in return the UK would
accept the bloc's new digital green card for travel, The Times
said.
That could avoid difficulties like those in Malta in recent
days, where the Maltese government has not been accepting proof
via the NHS app.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to meet German
Chancellor Angela Merkel at his Chequers official country
residence on Friday, when the pair will discuss travel
restrictions.
Merkel has been pressing for the EU to impose quarantine on
all British arrivals but individual countries like Spain have so
far rejected that.
(Reporting by Kate Holton, writing by Sarah Young; editing by
Michael Holden)