EU inches closer to Covid certificate for travel

European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders addresses the European Parliament in Brussels on the creation of a Covid-19 certificate.

The European Parliament on Thursday agreed its position on how a Covid certificate should work, bringing the EU closer to launching a document to open up travel within the bloc. Europe intends to have a certificate showing the bearer's vaccination status, Covid test results and/or evidence of having survived the disease up and running in June, in time for the continent's summer vacation period. While technical work has been ongoing to ensure the certificate is recognised across all 27 EU member states, final details have to be worked out involving capitals, the European Commission and the parliament. The first change MEPs have called for to a commission proposal is the name. Instead of a ‘digital green certificate’ they want to call it an ‘EU Covid-19 certificate’ -- to avoid any implication of it becoming a ‘vaccine passport’.