Last update: March 1st, 2021
“This month we’ll present a legislative proposal for a Digital Green Pass“, confirmed Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, via Twitter on March 1st.
The new initiative highlights the need for some sort of COVID certificate, which has been a subject of long debates over the last weeks in both EU gatherings and several governmental offices across the globe.
Von der Leyen recognized “there are still a number of open questions, political questions” regarding vaccine certificates. However, she also believes that “we should use them to ensure the functioning of the single market“.
According to the EU officer, an European Digital Green Pass “should facilitate Europeans’ lives” by gradually enabling them to move in a safe manner in the European Union and abroad “for work or tourism”.
The announcement was made just days after the EUCO meeting held by several EU leaders, and where Sassoli confirmed COVID certificates “were on the agenda”.
What to expect from the EU Digital Green Pass
Although citizens of Europe will have to wait to learn more details about the functioning of the Digital Green Pass, the EC president provided advance information on the COVID certificate’s main goals.
“The aim is to provide proof that a person has been vaccinated, results of tests for those who couldn’t get a vaccine yet, and information on COVID-19 recovery”, said von der Leyen.
However, she also highlighted that the first objective is “to achieve widespread vaccination”, which is in line with the WHO idea of combining high rates of vaccination and health passes to restore travel.
In von der Leyen’s words, the digital immunity certificate will help “create a gateway that connects national solutions with each other so the information is interoperable over time”.
The Digital Green Pass is expected to be ready to use within 3 months, just in time for the summer season.
Tourism MEPs on board with a common travel approach for summer
Greek Minister of Tourism Harry Teocharis quickly reacted to the announcement: “This is excellent news and not a second too soon”, said the Greek MEP.
Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar, an EP rapporteur, also said “we want to avoid past errors and put in place uniform travel measures, such as an EU protocol for tests before departure, a vaccination certificate, and a European sanitary seal.”
On February 25th, the European Parliament’s Committee of Transport and Tourism voted on a draft resolution to create an EU sustainable tourism strategy and “urged EU countries to send clear information on the application or lifting of future restrictions on free movement to the Commission”, stated the committee’s press release.