There are two ways to tell.
The short and simplified summary is that the heads of State and Government of the 27 have seen each other today by teleconference with two problems on the table: the general coordination against Covid and the idea of establishing a vaccination passport to try to save the next tourist season.
The longer vision, full of crossed variables, presents a half-split Europe, overtaken by the pandemic once again, with the economy suffocated, the third wave out of control and facing the very real possibility that at any moment they will return to get up without any coordination border controls within the Schengen area.
The videoconference organized by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, is the first of the year, but the ninth since the outbreak of the pandemic.
In the past there were never such encounters and now they have become routine, in large part due to the virus and the impossibility of movement, and in part because this is achieving a goal that at the time had already envisioned the predecessor of Michel, Donald Tusk: a European Council that assumes responsibilities, that occupies center stage and that seeks to expeditiously resolve discussions that can become entrenched for months or years when they remain at the level of ministers.
On the agenda: coordination, a heading where everything fits.
A week ago the main topic of discussion was the possibility of creating
a kind of 'passport'
or vaccination certificate, some kind of document that identifies who has already received the doses of the vaccine (any of them) to facilitate the return of travel, tourism.
The formal suggestion
came out of Athens
, with a letter from Prime Minister Mitsotakis, and Michel quickly picked up the gauntlet.
The Belgian believes that it is a "pertinent", necessary and urgent discussion, since Spain, Greece or Italy cannot bear another failed campaign.
But in the EU there is anything but consensus on the idea.
Denmark is already on it.
Spain, like Malta or Cyprus, welcomes the measure.
The governments of Poland or Slovenia have sent letters to Brussels also supporting the initiative and they all remember that the idea is not to make the vacation
a requirement to travel
, but to 'guarantee', as far as possible, that those who are immunized will be able go on vacation abroad.
France and Romania,
however, have clearly positioned themselves against it, arguing that any type of measure that becomes discriminatory is a mistake, especially considering that vaccination has just started and that it is voluntary in most states. .
Belgium is skeptical of the danger to individual freedoms.
And others, like the Netherlands, are halfway there, more than willing to debate, to listen to proposals, but with many doubts, both health (since there is no guarantee that a vaccinated person cannot infect) and legal, since there is no clear basis to prohibit travel and free movement by a criterion like that.
Not to mention the data protection implications.
The messages that were released show that the council is far away.
There is no problem with a certificate,
as long as it is considered "a medical document and not a travel document at this time".
It was agreed to keep talking, do technical work, and see if something is realistic and appropriate in time.
The Spanish president,
according to Moncloa, "supports the intensification of work in this regard with a view to its interoperability and its recognition by all countries", something that is not realistic at the moment.
"We must agree on the elements that this certificate should contain and ultimately see under what circumstances it could be used.
We are prudent,
" the president of the European Council
concluded
at the end of the summit.
At the virtual summit there were calls for mutual recognition of tests and to promote antigen tests.
To constant exchanges of information.
Nervous questions to the Commission about the schedule for the delivery of new doses and words of good will and solidarity with countries that do not have access.
The targets were set by Brussels this week: By March 2021, Member States
should have vaccinated a minimum of 80%
of healthcare, social care and population over 80 years of age.
And for summer, to a minimum of 70% of the adult population.
Following the ordered distribution with the same criteria as up to now.
But in addition to those issues, and above all, there is concern.
Governments are getting very nervous about the proliferation of hypercontagious cases and strains, and each wants to move in one direction.
The Mediterranean wants to open the doors to tourism as soon as possible, while others, such as Belgium, are currently studying to ban it.
Just minutes before the leaders turned on the cameras, the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention
raised the risk alert
, due to the different strains identified, and recommended that non-essential travel should not be made.
Angela Merkel, while warning the Germans of a "very harsh winter",
pushes discreetly at the possibility of closing the internal borders,
like last year, to tame the wave.
And for this, a
non-paper
has circulated in Brussels
arguing that outbreaks of these strains are more than justified reasons to cut their losses.
As was done with the United Kingdom a few weeks ago.
Affecting, even and ultimately, those who want to return to their own country.
"We are fully convinced that internal borders must be kept open to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market, but we are also convinced that it can help to limit non-essential travel," Michel explained at the end.
Meanwhile, others, like Luxembourg, where ironically the Schengen village is, are maneuvering desperately to avoid something like this that could sink an economy highly dependent on cross-border workers.
The European Commission, once again, is opposed to the idea.
He believes that there is more to lose than what can be gained, that Schengen is too precious to make its temporary suspension routine.
"The message is clear: the outright closure of the borders does not make any sense," President Von der Leyen told the European Parliament on the eve of the Summit.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Belgium
Spain
Italy
Poland
France
UK
Romania
Angela Merkel
Cyprus
European Comission
Denmark
Slovenia
Europe
Greece
Pandemic Chaos due to the lack of a European plan against the English strain
Spain also suspends its flights and the United Kingdom is isolated due to the new strain of coronavirus
The electricity continues to escalate but the Government refuses to lower the VAT on one of the most expensive bills in Europe
See links of interest
2021 business calendar
Valencia CF - Osasuna
Ibiza - Athletic Club
Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv - Real Madrid
Spain - Germany, live
Cornellá - Barcelona, live