European Parliament wants vaccination proof to be limited to one year
The European Parliament wants the vaccination certificates that the European Commission wants to introduce to work for a maximum of one year. After that, the vaccination certificates would no longer be necessary. EU countries must also commit to providing sufficient free testing.
Parliament is proposing an EU Covid-19 certificate as a response to the European Commission’s digital green certificate. The main difference between the two certificates is that the European Parliament wants the travel certificates to be valid for only 12 months.
Furthermore, the parliament says that the certificate should not become a travel document and that it should not be a condition for exercising the right to freedom of movement. The bill was approved by a majority of 540 out of 705 parliamentarians.
According to the plans, the personal data will not be stored centrally and countries will be responsible for developing a certificate. However, the European Commission is working on a framework. Countries are also not allowed to keep the personal data of tourists. The certificate will consist of an app with QR code and a paper version. The European Commission’s framework should be ready by mid-June.
In addition, the parliament emphasizes that EU countries must ensure that corona tests are universally and easily available, that residents can be tested in time and that this must be free. In this way, the parliamentarians want to prevent discrimination against residents who have no money for tests or who cannot yet be vaccinated.
The corona certificate is also known as a vaccination certificate and is intended to ensure that tourists can go on holiday to other EU Member States again this summer. Although the evidence focuses on vaccinations, corona tests and evidence of previous corona infections are also part of the certificate. With the certificate someone can prove that he or she is not contagious. EU countries are not allowed to impose additional travel restrictions on certificate holders, such as quarantine, self-isolation or extra corona tests.