EU eyes update to Covid certificate as infections surge
Published: 04:11 PM,Nov 23,2021 | EDITED : 08:11 PM,Nov 23,2021
European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton speaks with Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides before the College of Commissioners meeting at the European Commission in Brussels. - Reuters
BRUSSELS: The EU is looking to update its Covid certificate that has made travel easier within the bloc, as its acceptance is threatened by restrictions in some member states hit by surging infections.
EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides told the European Parliament on Monday that a revision was being prepared for this week to defend the 'success story' of the EU Digital Covid Health Certificate.
The certificate, backed by legislation approved by the European Parliament, came into force in July and allows bearers travelling within the European Union to prove they were fully vaccinated, had a recent negative Covid test, or were recovered from the coronavirus.
Its use helped European summer destinations such as Greece bounce back, and several other non-EU countries, such as Britain, have since also plugged into the system.
But climbing case numbers in several EU countries as winter pushes people indoors have prompted some governments to start tightening restrictions again.
Austria has a national lockdown, the Netherlands a curfew for bars, and Germany is poised to announce new measures.
Several countries, including Greece, France and Germany, are moving towards requiring a third booster shot for someone to be considered fully vaccinated, given mounting evidence that the effectiveness of current jabs wane after four or five months.
But, at an EU level, that would leave several, mainly eastern, member states out in the cold, given their relatively very low vaccination rates even for one or two doses.
Some stress that changes to the EU certificate need to be commonly adopted. 'It can't be different between Luxembourg, Greece, Germany and France,' said Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn. The issue is expected to be one of the main ones tackled at an EU summit scheduled for December 16-17.
Meanwhile, at present, 68 per cent of the German population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
There are, however, stark regional differences: While just under 80 per cent of people in the northern city of Bremen are vaccinated, the rate falls to 57.7 per cent in the eastern state of Saxony, according to the latest data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the national agency for disease control.
Zooming out to include Austria and Switzerland, the German-speaking countries of Europe are generally lagging behind their neighbours to the west when it comes to vaccine uptake. - AFP
EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides told the European Parliament on Monday that a revision was being prepared for this week to defend the 'success story' of the EU Digital Covid Health Certificate.
The certificate, backed by legislation approved by the European Parliament, came into force in July and allows bearers travelling within the European Union to prove they were fully vaccinated, had a recent negative Covid test, or were recovered from the coronavirus.
Its use helped European summer destinations such as Greece bounce back, and several other non-EU countries, such as Britain, have since also plugged into the system.
But climbing case numbers in several EU countries as winter pushes people indoors have prompted some governments to start tightening restrictions again.
Austria has a national lockdown, the Netherlands a curfew for bars, and Germany is poised to announce new measures.
Several countries, including Greece, France and Germany, are moving towards requiring a third booster shot for someone to be considered fully vaccinated, given mounting evidence that the effectiveness of current jabs wane after four or five months.
But, at an EU level, that would leave several, mainly eastern, member states out in the cold, given their relatively very low vaccination rates even for one or two doses.
Some stress that changes to the EU certificate need to be commonly adopted. 'It can't be different between Luxembourg, Greece, Germany and France,' said Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn. The issue is expected to be one of the main ones tackled at an EU summit scheduled for December 16-17.
Meanwhile, at present, 68 per cent of the German population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
There are, however, stark regional differences: While just under 80 per cent of people in the northern city of Bremen are vaccinated, the rate falls to 57.7 per cent in the eastern state of Saxony, according to the latest data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the national agency for disease control.
Zooming out to include Austria and Switzerland, the German-speaking countries of Europe are generally lagging behind their neighbours to the west when it comes to vaccine uptake. - AFP