The European Parliament and the EU Council have reached a preliminary agreement on how the “digital green certificates” created to ensure freedom of movement in Europe during the pandemic will work.
This was reported in the press service of the European Parliament.
The certificate will be available in digital or paper format and will certify either the fact of vaccination against coronavirus, or a recent negative test result, or confirm that a person has had a coronavirus disease. It is noted that in practice, these will be three separate certificates. A common “framework” will allow member countries to issue this document in a format that is recognized by other members of the bloc.
It is noted that the legislation on certificates will be valid for 12 months. The certificate itself will not be a precondition for the exercise of the right to freedom of movement.
Member states will have to recognize vaccination certificates issued by other members of the bloc if they are vaccines approved in the EU now — Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).
The decision on the recognition of vaccination certificates issued by member countries with other vaccines that have already been approved by WHO remains at the discretion of each individual country.
Certificates will be protected from forgery, and personal data from them cannot be stored in the country of arrival. There will also be no central database of certificates at the EU level.
In order to make testing more accessible, the European Commission has pledged to allocate at least 100 million euros from the EU special fund for the purchase of tests-primarily for people who regularly cross the border in everyday affairs. The negotiators agreed that additional funds would be raised if necessary.
Member States will not be required to impose additional quarantine restrictions, such as self-isolation or testing unless they are necessary and proportionate measures are guided by scientific evidence. In this case, other Member States should be notified at least 48 hours in advance.
The agreed text will be submitted to the relevant committee of the European Parliament on May 26, and then to the voting hall at the plenary session on June 7-10.
Recall that the EU Council on May 20 approved the opening of borders for vaccinated travelers from third countries.
