BRUSSELS (AP) – With summer approaching and tourism-dependent countries looking forward to a steady influx of visitors amid the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union’s executive body on Wednesday unveiled a proposal to allow the 450 million people of the bloc – vaccinated or not – to travel freely across the bloc of the 27 nations until the summer.
The plan, which will be discussed next week at a summit of EU leaders, provides for the creation of vaccine certificates aimed at facilitating travel from one Member State to another.
“We all want the tourist season to start. We can’t afford to miss another season, “European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova told Czech public radio. “Tourism, as well as culture and other sectors that are dependent on tourism, are suffering terribly. We are talking about tens of millions of jobs. ”
The subject has been discussed for weeks and has proved to be divisive. The tourism industry and tourism-dependent southern European countries, such as Greece and Spain, have made efforts to introduce the measure quickly, which could help avoid quarantines and testing requirements.
But several Member States, including France, have argued that it would be premature and discriminatory to introduce such permits, as a large majority of EU citizens have so far not had access to vaccines.
According to data compiled by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, less than 5% of European citizens have been fully vaccinated due to delays in deliveries and production of vaccines. However, the European Commission remains confident that it can achieve its goal of vaccinating 70% of the EU’s adult population by the end of the summer.
In order to ensure the accession of all Member States, the Commission has proposed that so-called digital green certificates, which should be free of charge, be delivered to EU residents who can prove that they have been vaccinated, but also to those who have tested negative for the virus. they have evidence that they recovered from it.
“Vaccination will not be a prerequisite for travel,” the commission said. “All EU citizens have a fundamental right to free movement within the EU, and this applies regardless of whether or not they are vaccinated. The digital green certificate will also facilitate the exercise of this right through test and recovery certificates. ”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the certificates “will help boost tourism and the economies that rely heavily on it”, while the European aviation sector called on EU governments to ensure permits are operational in time for the peak of the travel season. summer.
The Commission has proposed that all vaccines labeled by the European Medicines Agency be automatically recognized, but has given governments the opportunity to include other vaccines such as Russian Sputnik or Sinovac from China, which have not received EU market authorization.
The European Commission has guaranteed that “a very high level of data protection will be ensured” and said the certificates would be issued in digital format for display on either smartphones or paper.
EU officials also hope that vaccine certificates will convince Member States that they have introduced travel restrictions to slow down new infections to lift their measures. The EU Executive Army has previously warned six countries that their travel restriction measures, which go as far as banning non-essential travel in Belgium, could undermine the EU’s basic principle of free travel and affect the single market.
The Commission said certificates should be suspended once the World Health Organization declares an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If approved by EU leaders, the proposal will have to be approved by EU parliamentarians to enter into force.
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Karel Janicek from Prague contributed to this story.
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