BRUSSELS (AP) – With summer approaching and countries dependent on tourism eagerly awaiting the return of a steady flow of visitors amid the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union’s executive body presented a proposal Wednesday that would allow the 450 million of people from the bloc – vaccinated or not – to travel freely through the 27-nation bloc until the summer.
The plan, which will be discussed next week at a summit of EU leaders, provides for the creation of vaccine certificates to facilitate travel from one member state to another.
“We all want the tourist season to begin. We cannot afford to miss another season, ”European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova told Czech public radio. “Tourism, as well as culture and other sectors that depend on tourism, suffer terribly. We are talking about tens of millions of jobs. “
The topic has been discussed for weeks and has proven to be divisive. The travel industry and southern European countries that depend on tourism, such as Greece and Spain, have been pushing for the rapid introduction of the measure, which can help prevent quarantine and testing.
But several member states, including France, have argued that it would be premature and discriminatory to introduce such passes, since the vast majority of EU citizens have not had access to vaccines so far.
According to data compiled by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, less than 5% of European citizens have been fully vaccinated amid delays in the delivery and production of vaccines. The European Commission, however, remains confident that it can achieve its goal of 70% of the EU’s adult population being vaccinated by the end of the summer.
To ensure adherence by all member states, the commission proposed that its so-called Green Digital Certificates, which should be free, be given to EU residents who prove they have been vaccinated, but also to those who have tested negative for the virus or have evidence of who have recovered from it.
“Being vaccinated will not be a prerequisite for travel,” said the commission. “All EU citizens have the fundamental right to free movement within the EU and this applies regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not. The Digital Green Certificate will make it easier to exercise this right, also through test and recovery certificates. “
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the certificates “will help boost tourism and the economies that depend heavily on it”, while Europe’s aviation sector has asked EU governments to ensure that passes are operational in time for the peak of the summer travel season.
The commission proposed that all rubber stamp vaccines from the European Medicines Agency should be recognized automatically, but it also offered governments the possibility to include other vaccines such as Russia’s Sputnik or China’s Sinovac, which did not receive marketing authorization from HUH.
The European Commission guaranteed that “a very high level of data protection will be guaranteed” and stated that the certificates will be issued in digital format to be presented on smartphones or on paper.
EU officials also hope that vaccine certificates will convince member states that have introduced travel restrictions with the aim of slowing the rate of new infections to suspend their measures. The EU’s executive arm has already warned six countries that its travel limitation measures, which in Belgium go so far as to prohibit non-essential travel, could undermine the EU’s basic principle of traveling for free and undermining the single market.
The commission said that certificates should be suspended once the World Health Organization has declared the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If agreed by EU leaders, the proposal will need to be approved by EU legislators to take effect.
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Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this story.
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