Virtual summit of the Twenty-Seven: the return to favor of the vaccine passport
The President of the European Council Charles Michel in videoconference with the Twenty-Seven on the health crisis, this Thursday, February 25, 2021. REUTERS - POOL
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Reopening activities and also borders, preparing for the summer season by re-establishing free movement between European countries is a big part of the current concern of the Twenty-Seven.
Gathered for their now monthly videoconference meeting, they debated the advisability of a vaccination passport to cross borders.
Paris and Berlin set the summer months as the horizon to achieve this, but other countries want to step up the pace
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With our correspondent in Brussels,
Pierre Benazet
Europeans are now talking about health certificates.
It is the expression which replaces that of the vaccination passport recommended by the countries most dependent on tourism.
The positions of the Twenty-Seven diverge.
On the one hand, because for the moment the immunity provided by the vaccine has not been proven in the long term, on the other hand, because everyone will not be vaccinated anytime soon according to the French president and that the measure would therefore become unfair.
Emmanuel Macron refuses that the health certificate becomes a condition for being able to cross European borders:
"There are obviously between European countries ethical questions, legal questions to be settled and in particular this same question for our youth because this vaccination certificate does not must not be, if I may say so, a condition.
It should help us organize free movement.
I will not accept a system where, in a way, access to such and such a country is conditioned by such a certificate.
Our young people will not have been vaccinated at the end of June-beginning of July.
We are not going to tell them
"you cannot move from one region to another under any circumstances because you do not have a vaccination certificate".
"
Germany is just as skeptical as France, but the Europeans have still instructed the Commission to start preparing the health certificates.
They could be ready within three months.
Tourist countries such as Cyprus or Greece are no longer the only ones to recommend them since, for example, Denmark, Bulgaria or Austria are now in favor.
► To read also: The idea of a vaccine passport divides in France and in Europe
Berlin has started preparations
German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed after the meeting that Berlin has already started preparations for such a certificate.
“
Everyone agrees that we need it.
The European Commission took care of the technical preparations.
A common platform must be created so that all national vaccination passports are compatible at European level.
The European Commission will need around three months to develop the technical bases.
We in Germany decided to develop such a certificate.
I think all member countries will have their own passport.
In each country, this document will contain the same information.
This should make it possible to travel within the European Union.
Then we have to see if it will also be possible to facilitate entry into the European Union from third countries.
But everyone stressed today that this passport is not yet relevant given that so few of our citizens are already vaccinated.
But we have to prepare.
"
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European Union
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