(25 February 2021) – The European Commission is cautious with EU member states moves to unilaterally issue a certificate offering travel privileges to those vaccinated, EU sources told Euractiv.com, suggesting instead a common approach.
Unilateral vaccine passports “would pose some problems as at the end of the day we are all in the common Schengen area,” an EU source said. “We cannot have Israeli and British tourists granted with benefits while citizens of the Schengen area are excluded. There is an ongoing political debate but in no way such a measure should cause discrimination,” the EU source added.
EU leaders will today discuss Greece’s proposal to issue a travel certificate for those who took a COVID-19 jab. Such a certificate would save travellers the hassle of going through coronavirus tests or observing a quarantine when going abroad. However, Europeans have so far been divided over the issue.
The Greek proposal is backed mainly by countries whose economies are heavily reliant on tourism, such as Cyprus, Spain, Malta, Portugal, and Italy. Estonia also backs the idea.
Opponents include Romania, Germany and France, which have expressed their disagreement, at least for now, saying that Europe cannot have a certificate for travel reasons until all EU citizens have equal access to vaccines. (Euractiv.com)