EU leaders struggle to find common ground on COVID travel rules

FILE PHOTO: A man walks with his luggage at Fiumicino Airport after Italy lifted quarantine restrictions for people arriving from the EU, Schengen zone countries, Britain and Israel in a bid to revive the tourism industry, as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions continue to ease, near Rome, Italy, May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Divisions within the European Union have deepened over travel rules to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, after Italy and Greece followed Portugal and Ireland in announcing additional curbs on travellers from other EU states.

The EU's 27 member states have been debating for weeks how to coordinate travel policy, with the aim of containing the virus without disproportionately disrupting travel within the border-free European Schengen area.