The European Commission today presented a legislative proposal to introduce a certificate for those who have suffered from covid and vaccinated against the new disease. The Commission calls on the Council of the EU and the European Parliament to approve the bill by the summer.
The EC proposes that the certificate be free of charge, electronically, printable, and contain data on those vaccinated, infected and tested for kovid by PCR or rapid antigen test.
It is envisaged that all vaccinated, regardless of the preparation, will receive a certificate, and EU countries will have the freedom to decide whether to provide relief for those vaccinated with preparations for which there is no European approval.
The aim of the commission is to make the certificates easier to travel in the EU in the coming months, without the possession of such a document being a precondition for travel. It is envisaged that states will determine for themselves what restrictions should be lifted for certificate holders – for example, not to be subject to examination or quarantine. If countries decide to keep the restrictions to all, they will have to communicate and explain their decision to the rest of the EU and the EC.
The certificates will be issued in the language of the issuing State and in English. They will contain a QR code for verification in a system maintained by the commission.
The use of the new documents is proposed to be stopped by a decision of the World Health Organization, which announces the end of the emergency epidemic situation. Certificates will also be able to be issued and verified by Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
The EC adds that by the summer it will offer safety guidelines in the field of tourism.
However, the introduction of so-called digital green passports has also met with disapproval from some European leaders, who have expressed concern that this will make vaccination mandatory rather than desirable, as it is now. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also spoke out against making the vaccine a condition for travel. Bulgaria is among the countries that support the idea of introducing the so-called vaccination passport.
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