This photo illustration shows a French passport and an international certificate of vaccination or prophylaxis in front of the Berlaymont, the headquarters of the European Commission on March 13, 2021 in Brussels, Belgium.
Thierry Monasse | Getty images
LONDON – The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, proposed a citizens’ vaccination certificate on Wednesday as a way to support tourism activities this summer.
Economies dependent on tourism, such as Greece, have pushed for a common EU system that would restore travel in the region this summer. These countries faced fewer visitors in 2020 and are eager to welcome people back to avoid more serious economic scars.
As a result, the committee suggested that EU citizens should be allowed to use a “digital green certificate” to prove that they have been vaccinated against the virus; that they have received a negative Covid-19 test; whether they have recovered after contracting the coronavirus.
The idea with the two other options besides vaccination is to avoid criticism that the document discriminates against those who have not yet received an injection. However, some countries, including France, are hesitant about the idea, as young people are the last row to receive a vaccine.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “The certificate will ensure that the results, what it shows, the data, the minimum set of data are mutually recognized in each member state.”
“We aim to help Member States restore freedom of movement in a safe, responsible and trusted way,” she added.
Plus, a vaccine certificate is a bit of a difficult pill to swallow for some EU countries, given the region’s freedom of movement. Until the coronavirus hit, and in most cases, European citizens could move from one country to another without passport control.
The European Commission also said on Wednesday that all vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency should be automatically recognized by other member states under this new system. However, countries that wished to do so could also recognize vaccines that have not yet been approved by the European regulator.
Hungary, for example, inoculates civilians with the Russian vaccine Sputnik V as well as the shot from China. These have not yet been approved by the EMA.
The document is expected to contain only a very specific set of data: the citizen’s name and date of birth, the date of issue of the certificate, relevant information about a vaccine, test or recovery, and a unique identification name.
“This cannot be sustained by the countries visited,” the committee said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Brussels-based institution also said that the certificate will be free, available in the language of the issuing country and in English, and that it is only a temporary mechanism.
“It will be suspended once the World Health Organization declares the end of the Covid-19 international health emergency,” the committee said in a document.
Wednesday’s proposal will be discussed at the next European summit later this month. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in February that it could take three months to implement a digital certificate.
The various EU countries and the European Parliament must approve the committee’s proposal before it can be implemented.