MEPs: Digital Green Certificates Must Not Become a ‘De facto’ Precondition for Travelling
The European Union Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders has informed Members of the European Parliament, on the Commission’s proposal for the creation of Digital Green Certificates, during the Civil Liberties Committee on Tuesday.
Throughout the meeting of the Committee, the MEPs have quizzed Commissioner Reynders, while above all warning that the Commission must not permit the certificates to become a ‘de facto’ precondition for travelling throughout Europe.
“I would like to clarify that this is not a vaccination passport, as I’ve often heard it called. Our proposal aims to clarify that vaccination cannot be a precondition for free movement,” Reynders said while reiterating that the proposal is concentrated on three types of certificate: on vaccination against COVID-19, on a negative test result, and recovery from the virus.
Commenting on the issue, MEP Juan Fernando López Aguilar said that the EU must make sure that the certificates will be issued in line with the values of the Union, “so that those who have the certificate will have the advantage to evade or to escape the additional restrictions.”
Further, Commissioner Reynders also talked about the topic of the issuance of certificates to those who have taken vaccines that are not approved for use by the European Medicines Agency, taking the Russian vaccine Sputnik as an example.
“Every EU citizen should have the right to receive a certificate regardless of a vaccine administered. Indeed, it cannot be excluded that some vaccines currently only used on an emergency basis at the member state level will at some point receive a central marketing authorisation at EU level,” he said.
The Commissioner also assured those present that the Commission is ready to complete the necessary technical, infrastructural work by the end of June and that the certificate would not result in a central database created at the EU level.
At the same time, he noted that high data protection standards in line with EU data protection rules would be the key to the establishment of the scheme.
“The principle of data minimisation is fully taken into account as the certificates will include a limited set of information,” he said.
Throughout the meeting, some of the MEPs asked for clarifications on the relationship between the EU certificate and other similar but individual initiatives of the Member States.
The MEPs, however, showed their full support to the initiative, for which MEP Tineke Strik said that it is an instrument to harmonise or to help harmonise the lifting of the border controls and to prevent chaos and discrimination.
The EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen revealed the block’s plans to create the Digital Green Certificate for those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and those who have recovered from the virus back at the very beginning of March.
Her statements were confirmed only later in mid-March when the Commission introduced its proposal for the certificates, through which it announced its intentions to facilitate the border crossing process between the EU countries for European citizens who have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic without being subject to additional restrictions such as testing process or quarantine rules.
Over a year ago, AtoZSerwisPlus.com had reported on the possibility that the European Union could use such a tool in order to restore travel within the block. The information had been confirmed by an EU official, who had also warned that third country citizens might be required to vaccinate in order to apply for a visa to the EU countries and the Schengen Area.