EU unveils vaccine passport plans in boost for summer holiday hopes
The EU has unveiled plans to introduce vaccine passports to unlock international travel after months of closure, in a major boost for Britons’ hopes of holidays abroad this summer.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen outlined proposals for the EU’s Digital Green Certificate this afternoon, with the passports set to come into effect from early June.
Brits who can prove they have received both doses of a Covid vaccine, can provide proof of antibodies or can show details of a negative test, will be able to travel to Europe under the scheme.
The passes will be free for EU citizens, though it is not yet clear whether British citizens will have to pay a fee for the certificates.
The passes will also be in English as well as the language of the issuing member states, and will available in digital or paper formats — both of which will have QR codes, according to Von der Leyen.
They will include vaccination certificates, negative Covid test certificates, and medical certificates for people who have recovered from Covid-19 in the last 180 days.
The EU is currently developing verification software to ensure a smooth approach all member states. It will also be available to non-EU countries such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Vera Jourova, vice president of the European Commission for values and transparency, said: “We all want the tourist season to start. We can’t afford to lose another season.
“Tourism, and also culture and other sectors that are dependent on tourism, terribly suffer. We’re talking about tens of millions of jobs.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis added the travel certificates “will help boost tourism and the economies that rely heavily on it”.
International travel will not be allowed to resume until at least 17 May under the Prime Minister’s roadmap for leaving lockdown. Departing Brits are currently obliged to fill out a form stating their reasons for essential travel.
The Prime Minister last month appointed Michael Gove to oversee a review into the possibility of vaccine passports. The taskforce, which will report its findings to Boris Johnson on 12 April, has been asked to ensure “that any shorter-term changes act as a bridge to longer-term objectives on delivering vaccine certification to facilitate travel”.
Business minister Kwarsi Kwarteng confirmed this morning that the UK is looking to introduce its own version of the EU’s Digital Green Certificate.
Kwarteng told the BBC that ministers “are discussing what the best way to proceed is” on the issue of vaccine passports.
More than 25m people in the UK have already received their first dose of a vaccine, including all top four priority groups. The Prime Minister has set a fresh target to offer a first injection to all over-50s by 15 April, with all adults in the UK set to be vaccinated by 31 July at the latest.