DETAILS ABOUT EU COVID-19 VACCINE PASSPORT
The European Union has made available its COVID-19 passport for all EU citizens and residents, as well as for specific categories of travellers from third countries, since July 1.
The procedures for the launch of the certificate have been completed on the side of the EU Commission since the beginning of June, throughout which month the Member States have one by one started implementing it.
On June 1 that seven EU countries had already started to issue EU COVID-19 passports – Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia and Poland. On June 4, Iceland also started to implement the pilot system for the issuance of COVID certificates.
Back in April 2020, a vaccine would for sure become mandatory for those wishing to travel throughout the Schengen Area once it is approved and available.
However, the Commission first brought forward the proposal for the creation of a document which would enable those vaccinated to travel restriction-free throughout Europe in mid-March this year, in a bid to restore the freedom of travel for vaccinated persons, those who have recovered from the virus, and those who test negative, amid COVID-19.
Since then, the proposal has gone through all of the EU procedures for the approval of regulation, and by August all of the Member States started issuing it.
THE PURPOSE OF EU COVID-19’S PASSPORT
The European COVID-19 travel certificate has been created by the European Union in a bid to restore the freedom of travel, which has been put at a halt for over a year since the pandemic erupted all over the block. Through the certificate, the Commission intends to remove travel restrictions as entry bans, quarantine obligation, and testing.
The EU Commission has encouraged the Member States to remove the entry restrictions imposed on the freedom of movement since mid-March 2020, for those that hold such a document, starting from July 1, though the members have had the option to remove those restrictions earlier.
“When travelling, every Digital Green Certificate holder will have the same rights as citizens of the visited Member State who have been vaccinated, tested or recovered,” the EU Commission had explained presenting the certificate.
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