EU unveils Covid pass plan to allow free travel by summer

As summer approaches and tourism-reliant countries prepare for an influx of visitors amid the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission has presented a proposal that would allow the bloc's 450 million people – vaccinated or not – to travel freely across the 27-nation member states by summer. 

The EU wants to introduce legislation that would allow the bloc's 450 million people – vaccinated or not – to travel freely across the 27-nation member states by summer.  REUTERS - POOL

The plan, announced on Wednesday, is due to be discussed next week during a summit of EU leaders and foresees the creation of vaccine certificates aimed at facilitating travel from one member state to another. 

The topic has been discussed for weeks and proved to be divisive. The travel industry and southern European countries dependent on tourism like Greece and Spain have been pushing for the quick introduction of the measure, which could help avoid quarantines and testing requirements. 

But several member states, including France, have argued that it would be premature and discriminatory to introduce such passes since a large majority of EU citizens haven't had access to vaccines so far.

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Data for the maps in support of the Council Recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the EU/EEA and the UK © ECDC

High hopes for vaccination target

According to data compiled by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, fewer than 5 percent of European citizens have been fully vaccinated amid delays in deliveries and production of vaccines.

The European Commission, however, remains confident it can achieve its goal of 70 percent of the EU adult population vaccinated by the end of the summer.

To secure the adhesion of all member states, the commission proposed that its so-called Digital Green Certificates, which should be free of charge, would be delivered to EU residents who can prove they have been vaccinated, but also to those who tested negative for the virus or have proof they recovered from it.

We are proposing to create a Digital Green Certificate to facilitate safe free movement inside the EU during the pandemic.

The certificate will:
✅ Be accessible and secure for all EU citizens
✅ Be non-discriminatory
✅ Contain only essential information#StrongerTogether

— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) March 17, 2021

Russian, Chinese vaccines

The commission has proposed that all vaccines rubber stamped by the European Medicines Agency should be automatically recognised, but also offered governments the possibility to include other vaccines like Russia’s Sputnik or China’s Sinovac, which haven't received EU market authorisation.

The European Commission guaranteed that “a very high level of data protection will be ensured” and said the certificates will be issued in digital format to be shown either on smartphones or paper.

EU officials also hope that vaccine certificates will convince member states that have introduced travel restrictions aimed at slowing down the pace of new infections to lift their measures.

The commission said the certificates should be suspended once the World Health Organization declares the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

If agreed by the EU leaders, the proposal will need to be approved by MEPs at the European Parliament to enter into force.