Ongoing: Covid certificate started working in seven EU countries

BRUSSELS.- A total of seven countries of the European Union (EU), between them Germany, Greece Yes Denmark, But no spain, began this Tuesday to broadcast the first European certificates that will allow tourists to travel without restrictions by being able to demonstrate that they are vaccinated against the coronavirus, have a recent negative test or have already conquered the disease.

It is the first group of countries to implement the European system to issue certificates and verify their validity, but other nations such as Spain, which intends to do it next Monday June 7, as recently announced by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez.

The idea was originally proposed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a country where 10% of jobs depend on tourism.

The outputs are Greece, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Croatia and Poland, although in cases like German it is a gradual entry because for the moment they only carry out the certificate in some of their regions or they only certify one of the three possible options.

In the test phase since mid-May, this Tuesday was officially launched the common platform which will allow the verification of the security elements which contain the QR codes of all the certificates and to which the countries will join because they have everything ready for your system.

Formally in force for the whole of the EU since June 1, the new European platform provides for a transition period for the most backward countries so that they can join the project until mid-August.

The holder of EU Covid digital certificate will be able to demonstrate during your travels within the European Union that You are not at risk of spreading the virus because you have been vaccinated, have recently recovered from the disease, or have recently tested negative.

The document, free and in several languages, will offer basic medical information on the traveller’s situation with regard to the coronavirus, but will not allow the exchange or storage of personal data during the process to verify its authenticity when the holder shows it. for traveling.

With all this, it is expected that Member States will not impose additional restrictions such as compliance with quarantine or carrying out additional PCR tests on arrival at destination, although as these are exclusively national competences, all will depend on the decision of each government. .

In fact, the Twenty-Seven agreed to a “emergency break” be able to reimpose urgentlyIto restrictions if a high risk of contagion or spread of new dangerous variants is detected from a specific country.

Measurements provided

For the sake of coordination, countries taking this action should notify the changes to both the European Commission and their partners in the EU and ensure that they are proportionate and non-discriminatory measures.

Precisely on Monday, Brussels raised a series of clarifications on the regulation that frames the European certificate in order to facilitate its application, but also to call on capitals to initiate a gradual withdrawal of all travel restrictive measures, not only for certificate holders but also for those who still do not have this title, travel from low risk areas (“green” or “orange” areas).

Thus, the Community Executive specifies that the certificate for the vaccinated will be valid from fourteen days after the end of the vaccination schedule (two doses in all vaccines except Janssen, which is a unit dose) and proposes that the certificate for those who have recovered from the infection is valid for 180 days.

The Commission also recalls that certificate-related PCRs can be carried out up to 72 hours before travel and encourages Member States to accept rapid antigen tests as their effectiveness increases, with a validity of 48 hours before travel. trip.

In any case, these are recommendations from the Community Executive that the Twenty-seven can undertake to follow – they will analyze them this Wednesday at ambassadorial level for the first time – but they are not obliged to follow them.

DPA and AP agencies

THE NATION

Conocé The Trust Project