Canadians have been given the green light to travel to Europe without restrictions, according to an agreement by European Union members states on Wednesday. Canada was one of 11 countries deemed epidemiologically safe by the EU council.

Ambassadors from the EU’s 27 states also approved non-essential travel from residents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Jordan, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, reported the Reuters news agency.

But while the guidelines are set to take effect in “the coming days,” individual countries are free to set their own standards, including requiring quarantines and negative test results, though most if not all are expected to follow the new EU guidelines.

The 11 countries join an existing limited list of countries whose citizens are deemed welcome in Europe – a list that includes the US but notably does not include Britain, where the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 has resulted in a rise in cases.

Canada’s approval was based on a significant decline in cases in recent weeks and follows earlier concerns that Canadians who have received the Astra Zeneca vaccine, which has not been formally approved by the EU, would be barred from entering.