Will you be able to travel to Europe this summer? We dig in.
Americans woke up Monday to some welcome travel news, with headlines that read, “Fully vaccinated Americans will be able to vacation in the EU this summer, European Commission president tells New York Times” from CNN and “European Union will let vaccinated Americans visit this summer: official” from FOX News. The headline of the original New York Times article that was being aggregated was: “E.U. Set to Let Vaccinated U.S. Tourists Visit This Summer.” Those pieces sure make it sound as though the EU has just flung open its doors. But the New York Times headline displaying on Google News right now isn’t quite so definitive: Since publication, the Times article has been aggregated widely, potentially misleading a world desperate for the chance to travel (and businesses longing for travel revenue). The confusion stems from a brief interview with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who told the New York Times that “Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines.” She continues, “This will enable free movement and the travel to the European Union.” The follow-up New York Times explainer goes onto say that “Ms. von der Leyen did not offer a timeline or offer details on how tourism would be enabled. But her public comments suggest that the European Commission will officially recommend the change in travel policy soon.” To be clear, the head of the European Union was simply stating that the EU would propose that the 27 member states start moving towards a policy of reopening to fully vaccinated U.
