Brussels presented a draft of a single 'vaccination passport' to save the summer tourist season
The certificate is a document equipped with a QR code. As reported by RFI, it will confirm that its holder has been vaccinated against COVID-19, has passed a negative PCR test, or has immunity after having the disease at least 180 days before the trip. At noon on March 17, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as well as Commissioners Thierry Breton and Didier Reynders, presented the draft certificate.
The certificate can be downloaded to a smartphone or received in paper form. It is intended to 'facilitate' free movement within the EU, but should not be a 'precondition' for exercising this right, notes the France-Presse agency, which has seen the draft regulation.
Thus, unvaccinated citizens or those without natural immunity should be able to travel within the EU while observing necessary sanitary safety measures, such as quarantine. On the other hand, a state that imposes quarantine on the holder of such a certificate, or prevents him from entering its territory, must justify this decision to Brussels.
As France-Presse points out, the future certificate will take into account four vaccines against Covid-19 approved in the European Union (these are vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson&Johnson). According to the preliminary version of the document, recognition of the four officially approved vaccines in the EU 'will not prevent member states from issuing their own certificates for other vaccines.' This opens the way for recognition of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine or the Russian Sputnik V, which have been unilaterally approved in some EU countries, the agency notes.
The European certificate will be valid in all European countries. The Commission is 'working to reach a final decision by June,' said EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton on Sunday, who considers it 'necessary' to do everything 'to preserve the tourist season.'
Despite the fact that vaccination campaigns in EU countries are in their initial stages, the most tourism-dependent European countries, primarily Greece, insist on adopting a single certificate. Greece and Cyprus have also concluded tourism agreements with Israel allowing vaccinated citizens to travel between these countries without restrictions.
Other states are less willing to take this measure. For example, France opposed the introduction of a single vaccination passport back in January. According to French authorities, the presence or absence of a certificate for someone means inequality of one person before another. Moreover, due to delays in vaccine deliveries to Europe and problems with the AstraZeneca drug, vaccination rates have significantly slowed compared to the EU's original plans. Belgium also objects to a single vaccination certificate.
As Thierry Breton warned on Sunday, 'an agreement will not be reached quickly.' To adopt a single vaccination certificate, not only the consent of the 27 EU member states is required, but also the approval of the European Parliament.
Some politicians criticize this initiative as an EU power grab in the field of health, which is mainly within the competence of individual member states. Until now, Brussels' actions have been limited to issuing non-binding recommendations.
The project also raises questions from a scientific point of view, as there is still uncertainty about whether vaccinated people can carry the virus asymptomatically and transmit it. 'It is clear that vaccination reduces the transmission of coronavirus, but we do not yet know to what extent,' said Andrea Ammon, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), on Tuesday.
According to calculations made by the France-Presse agency based on data from official sources, only 3.5% of the European population have received the two required doses of the vaccine. Despite delays in vaccine deliveries, Brussels maintains its goal of vaccinating 70% of adults in the EU by the end of summer.