The Baltic Bubble was a special travel-restricted area consisting of the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

created on May 15, 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Europe The global COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Europe with its first confirmed case in Bordeaux, France, on 24 January 2020, and subsequently spread widely across the continent. By 17 March 2020, every country in Europe had confirmed a case, and al ...

. It was the first

travel bubble During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and territories imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. Some countries and territories imposed global restric ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

since COVID-19 restrictions were first implemented. The creation of the Baltic Bubble was announced by the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

s of the three states on April 29, 2020. It allowed citizens of the states to travel across the borders of the states without needing to

self-isolate In health care facilities, isolation represents one of several measures that can be taken to implement in infection control: the prevention of communicable diseases from being transmitted from a patient to other patients, health care workers, ...

unless the citizens had travelled outside of the area within the previous 14 days. The Baltic Bubble was suspended on November 11, 2020, when Latvia restricted entry conditions for people coming from Estonia due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. On April 28, 2021, Estonia Foreign Minister

Eva-Maria Liimets Eva-Maria Liimets (born 31 May 1974) is an Estonian politician. She served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. She was nominated by the Estonian Centre Party as an independent in January 2021 and offi ...

announced that the Baltic Bubble could be restored in the summer of 2021, allowing for the facilitation of travel between the states again. On April 29, 2021, Lithuania Prime Minister

Ingrida Šimonytė Ingrida Šimonytė (; born 15 November 1974) is a Lithuanian politician, public servant and economist who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Lithuania, prime minister of Lithuania from 2020 to 2024. She has been a Member of the Seimas for the A ...

questioned the need for a Baltic Bubble because a European Union Green Pass was already in development at the time that would allow for people to freely travel across the entire EU. On May 28, 2021, the Lithuanian Economy and Innovation Ministry announced that the three Baltic states were planning on reintroducing the Baltic Bubble.

References

Containment efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic COVID-19 pandemic in Europe 2020 disasters in Europe 2020 establishments in Europe COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia COVID-19 pandemic in Estonia COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania 2020 establishments in Lithuania 2020 establishments in Estonia {{Lithuania-stub

See also

References