Angela Merkel: EU is preparing corona vaccination pass for travel in summer

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The European Union is pushing ahead with work on a uniform corona vaccination certificate for easier travel.

The common system could be operational in time for the summer season.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday after a special EU summit on the corona pandemic, the EU Commission wants to create the technical prerequisites in the next three months to connect national digital vaccination cards.

EU Council President Charles Michel said that the 27 states are getting closer and closer in their ideas.

Each country would then decide for itself which rights are linked to the common document.

Austria, Bulgaria and Greece had previously put pressure on.

They want to give vaccinated, tested and recovered people more freedom again.

The model for the move is the “Green Pass” in Israel, as Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said.

People who have recovered from a corona infection and those who have been vaccinated against the virus have been able to visit gyms, theaters and sporting events since Sunday.

In the EU, southern countries in particular rely on the tourism business that is so important to them.

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The work on a common vaccination card should now be pushed forward, as stated in the joint summit conclusions.

So far, the 27 EU countries had only agreed that there should be mutually recognized proof of vaccination for medical purposes.

A database for registering vaccinations and a personalized QR code for vaccinated people are planned.

With a view to the possible advantages for those who had been vaccinated, Merkel emphasized: “Everyone pointed out today that this is currently not the issue with the low vaccination coverage of the population.

But you have to prepare. ”That does not mean that in future only those who have a vaccination certificate will be allowed to travel.

"No political decisions have been made about this at all."

Merkel adjusts the population to vaccinations "over longer years"

Merkel has stopped the population of the European Union from any vaccinations that may be required for a long time.

Because of the mutations it could be that "we always have to be able to vaccinate over long years," she said.

In the EU, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary are currently particularly affected by the British mutation.

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The EU Commission has set up a task force, Merkel added.

Among other things, this should deal with the question of how more production capacities can be created within the Union in order to produce more vaccines.

Merkel demanded that the federal states first gain experience with the effects of self-tests and their quality before linking their use to easing steps.

You have to see if you can get a buffer that allows openings above an incidence of 35, she said.

It cannot be that you open it first and then see whether the tests provide the necessary security against an increase in infections.

You first have to see whether the buffer is really working.

“We need precise information on the effectiveness of the rapid tests and information on whether this will stop the increase,” said Merkel.

You will not be able to do without the incidences, nor will you open them immediately.

"We always have to check whether we are in control of the infection process."

Despite the worrying corona situation in the French border region Moselle, Merkel does not expect stricter controls like at the borders with the Czech Republic or the Austrian state of Tyrol.

"Border controls are not on the agenda at the moment," she said.