Greece ready to use Covid-19 pass before July to save summer, PM says

People visit the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill archaeological site, amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, in Athens, Greece

Greece is ready to use a Covid-19 travel certificate before its EU-wide launch on July 1 to attract foreign travellers and save its tourism sector from a second summer lost to the coronavirus. Greece was one of the early advocates of a certificate that would ease European Union travel curbs and help pull the country's economy from recession by lifting tourism revenues. The European Council and parliament last week reached a deal on the digital green certificate following a rapid pick-up of vaccinations allowing widespread lifting of coronavirus curbs. The European Parliament is expected to pass a law in the week from June 7 and more than a dozen EU countries, including France and Spain, have agreed to test the system before a launch on July 1.