BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union’s executive body on Wednesday proposed issuing certificates that would allow EU residents to travel freely through the bloc of 27 countries until the summer as long as they have been vaccinated, have been negative for detecting COVID- 19 or have recovered from the disease.
With summer and tourism-dependent countries eagerly awaiting the return of visitors amid the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission plans to create certificates to facilitate travel between EU member countries. The plan will be discussed at a summit of EU leaders next week,
“We all want the tourist season to begin. We can’t afford to miss another season, “Vera Jourova, vice-president of the European Commission, told Czech public radio. “Tourism, as well as culture and other sectors that depend on tourism, are suffering terribly. We are talking about tens of millions of jobs.
The issue of vaccine certificates has been debated for weeks in the EU, where it proved to be divisive. The travel industry and southern European countries with tourism-dependent economies such as Greece and Spain have pushed for the rapid introduction of a program that would help eliminate quarantines and test the requirements of tourists.
But several other EU members, including France, argued that it would be premature and discriminatory to introduce such passes, as a large majority of EU citizens have not had access to vaccines so far.
To ensure the participation of all member countries, the commission proposed delivering free “digital green certificates” to EU residents who can prove that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, but also to those who have been negative for the virus or they can prove that they have recovered. from it.
“Vaccination will not be a precondition for travel,” the European Commission said. “All EU citizens have a fundamental right to free movement in the EU, and this applies regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not. The digital green certificate will facilitate the exercise of this right, also through test certificates. and recovery “.
According to data collected by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, less than 5% of European citizens have been fully vaccinated amid delays in vaccine delivery and production. The European Commission says it remains confident it can reach the target of vaccinating 70% of the EU’s adult population by the end of the summer.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the travel certificates “will help boost tourism and the economies that depend on it to a large extent.” The European aviation industry urged EU governments to ensure that the passes were operational in time during the peak of the summer travel season.
The commission proposed that all vaccines marked by the European Medicines Agency should be automatically recognized, but also offered governments the possibility of including other vaccines such as Russia’s Sputnik or China’s Sinovac, which they have not received EU market authorization.
The European Commission assured that “a very high level of data protection will be ensured” and stated that the certificates will be issued in digital format for display on smartphones or on paper.
EU officials also hope that vaccine certificates will convince member states that they have introduced travel restrictions with the aim of slowing down the pace of new infections to lift their measures. The EU’s executive arm has previously warned six countries that their travel restriction measures, which in Belgium go as far as banning non-essential travel, could undermine the EU’s basic principle of free travel and damage the single market. .
The commission said the certificates should be suspended once the World Health Organization declares the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If EU leaders agree, the proposal will have to be approved by EU lawmakers to take effect.
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Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this story.
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