EU inches closer to Covid certificate for travel

The European Parliament on Thursday agreed its position on how aCovidcertificateshould work, bringing theEUcloserto launching a document to open uptravelwithin the bloc.

Europe intends to have acertificateshowing the bearer's vaccination status,Covidtest results and/or evidence of having survived the disease up and running in June, in time for the continent's summer vacation period.

While technical work has been ongoing to ensure thecertificateis recognised across all 27EUmember states, final details have to be worked out involving capitals, the European Commission and the parliament.

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The first change MEPs have called for to a commission proposal is the name. Instead of a "digital greencertificate" they want to call it an "EUCovid-19certificate",to avoid any implication of it becoming a "vaccine passport".

They said the document should "neither serve astraveldocument nor become a precondition to exercise the right to free movement" and should only be in use for 12 months.

Stressing that thecertificateshould not result in discrimination, parliament demanded thatCovid-19 tests fortravelshould be free of charge. The commission has said that this issue should be left up to member states.

The parliament's negotiation position was announced Thursday following a vote late Wednesday, with 540 MEPs in favour, 119 against, and 31 abstentions.

'Safetravel'

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the result, but ignored the proposed renaming of thecertificate.

"The (European Parliament) adopting its position on a Digital GreenCertificateis a key step towards free and safetravelthis summer," she tweeted.

She urged a "swift conclusion" to the final negotiations on the document, adding: "We will have theEU(virtual verification) gateway up and running by June, while supporting the timely rollout of national systems."

Initially, the plan is forEUcitizens and residents in the bloc to be able to use thecertificateto avoid quarantine, testing and other obstacles to intra-EUtravelthat have sprung up since the start of the pandemic.

Member states, however, want to retain the option of those measures if they deem them necessary, pointing out that public health issues are their responsibility, not Brussels'.

Later on, theEUintends to accept certificates issued by non-EUcountries fortravelby their citizens. Talks are already going in that direction with the United States but, so far, not with formerEUmember Britain.

Acertificatetrial is to be conducted in May before the initiative is launched across allEUcountries. Safeguards are to be in place against forgery and to uphold data protection.

The commission and the parliament agree that the vaccines accepted across the bloc will be those authorised by the European Medicines Agency: currently from BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

They say individualEUcountries could additionally allow other vaccines, as would likely be the case of Hungary and some other states that have opted to use Russia's Sputnik V jab or ones produced by China.