A passenger drives a suitcase through an abandoned arrivals hall at Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid.
Photographer: Paul Hanna / Bloomberg
Photographer: Paul Hanna / Bloomberg
A proposal to grant special privileges to those vaccinated is gaining momentum in Europe ahead of a cracking call from the region’s leaders as an increase in coronavirus infections hints at a rapid exit from the economic crippling blockages.
During a video conference on January 21 European Union leaders will discuss the introduction of a “certificate of vaccination” that allows holders to travel freely, said several diplomats familiar with preparations for the virtual meeting. The proposal is gaining increasing support, an EU official said, while another diplomat warned that other governments are pushing back and that any restrictions on freedom of movement on such grounds could be illegal.
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The proposal to introduce such a certificate gained momentum after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had formally requested it in a letter to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, earlier this week. With vaccination campaigns moving at a snail’s pace, a decision to extend EU-wide privileges for vaccines that are not yet available to everyone in the bloc due to limited supplies will not come any time soon.
Still, countries desperate to at least partially restore their journey could do it on their own, as border control is a national competence and EU coordination, while wanted, is not mandatory. The commission, the EU’s executive arm in Brussels, said it is consulting with the bloc’s national capitals on the idea of vaccination certificates as part of efforts to keep internal borders open.
New proposal
“We are actively talking to Member States about the recognition of vaccination certificates, just as we are working on the recognition of tests,” said Stefan De Keersmaecker, spokesman for the Transport and Health Committee, Thursday. “This is an important issue for free movement in the EU.”
The EU official said leaders are likely to ask the committee to come up with a proposal for a vaccination certificate during next week’s call. The leaders will also ask the executive for action to speed up vaccinations and increase manufacturing capacity.
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Sellers have startedDeploying apps that can securely store health information, such as test results, vaccination status, or evidence that you’ve had Covid-19, and can be used by airlines to speed throughput based on policies that vary by country.
The calls come as the EU is behind the US, UK and countries like Israel and the UAE in population vaccination. The delays mean lockdowns will last longer, delaying the bloc’s recovery from its strongest recession in living memory.
“We need to explore all possible ways to encourage private companies to scale up vaccine production and deliveries to Member States,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a January 13 letter to von der Leyen. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a January 11 letter to the President of the Commission: “There is an urgent need to increase the production capacity of various vaccines while accelerating deliveries to Member States.”
– Assisted by Paul Tugwell, Sotiris Nikas, Christopher Jasper, Siddharth Vikram Philip and Charlotte Ryan