The telegraph
Brussels gives provisional support to EU coronavirus ‘passports’ to boost travel
Vaccine ‘passports’ are at risk of spreading the coronavirus, the government warned on Tuesday, although the European Commission provisionally supports the idea. EU leaders will have their first discussions on vaccination certificates at a video conference on Thursday. The Department of Health has confirmed that vaccine passports are not being considered in Britain because it is not yet known whether vaccines prevent you from being a carrier. This could mean that British tourists will miss holidays in the EU because they will not have the vaccination certificates, which the commission said could be used in the EU “and beyond”. Britain is unlikely to accept certificates from EU citizens who wish to travel to the United Kingdom. Brussels said using vaccination certificates to allow more travel and tourism in the EU was “premature” at this stage, but left the door open for plans to be resumed in the future. “We feel that now is the time for these vaccine certificates to be recognized across the European Union, and even outside.” said Margaritis Schinas, vice chairman of the commission. Mr. Schinas said it is “perfectly conceivable that this could pave the way for another use, including facilitating travel”. But EU heads of state and government would have to agree with the idea and enough Europeans would have to be vaccinated first, he said. The commission said that member states should set ambitious targets to vaccinate at least 80% of health and social care professionals and people over 80 by March 2021 and a minimum of 70% of the total adult population by summer. The bloc started vaccinating three weeks ago and has so far approved two vaccines – from BioNTech / Pfizer and Moderna – with others expected soon. But its rate of vaccination lags behind countries like the United States, Britain, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. In a coup against Britain, Schinas said the EU opted for “safety first” instead of granting emergency vaccine approval, as the UK did. “It is not a race between countries, but a race against time in Europe,” he said. The commission said the EU would agree with the minimum data required for the vaccination certificate and would ensure that it would respect data privacy laws by the end of January. The common approach could be “scaled up globally” by becoming a model for World Health Organization certification systems. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose country depends on tourism, asked for certificates that allow vaccinated people to travel freely by Europe. Other countries, including Germany, are more cautious, especially after the arrival of the British variant on the continent, and are against any plan that discriminates who has the jab and who does not. Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of the 16 German states are expected to extend and restrict a partial blockade beyond last January, as fears about strains of the virus believed to be more contagious grow. Former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Times Radio he is feeling “optimistic” about being able to travel in 2021 and has already booked two summer holidays, including a trip to Italy in June.