Before the summer, the European Union may introduce a certificate for vaccination against the new type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which will allow more freedom to travel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a video conference of the European Council of Heads of State and Government in Berlin.
The Chancellor emphasized that, for the time being, the spread of new, highly infectious mutations in the virus is the focus of Member States’ attention. The epidemic situation is particularly severe in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, “but Hungary has also reported a difficult situation with a third wave,” she added.
At the same time, all member states agreed on the need for a digital vaccination card, Angela Merkel added.
As she said, EU members will introduce the innovation on their own, at national level, but Member State cards will be valid throughout the EU through an EU-wide solution. This will allow the digital vaccination card to travel more freely within the community, and the new solution could also be the basis for people from outside the EU to enter the EU.
She stressed that the introduction of the new institution does not mean at all that only those who have a digital vaccination certificate can travel. There is “no political decision yet” on this issue.
She explained that due to the low vaccination rate, all of this is “not a topic yet, but needs to be prepared”. The development could take three months, Angela Merkel explained.
(MTI)
