EU institutions adopt regulation on COVID certificates

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - The Council of the European Union adopted the legislation on the EU digital COVID certificate, the institution representing member states announced.

With official approval of EU states, the bloc’s COVID pass system ensuring free travel across the bloc can become operational as of July 1, since EU lawmakers also gave the green light for the regulation earlier this week.

The document is meant to facilitate travel within the bloc by waiving further quarantine or test requirements for those who hold the pass.

All EU citizens and residents can request the COVID certificate from their authorities free of charge.

The document will be available on smartphone or paper format, featuring a QR code that allows authorities to determine the COVID status of the traveler.

The pass will prove if a person had received all the recommended doses of vaccine approved by the European Medicine Agency, had a negative PCR test result over the past 72 hours, or recovered from the illness in the last six months.

EU states will be free to decide if they allow the free entry of people who have only received one shot or were inoculated by a jab authorized only by a member state's authority, like the Russian Sputnik V or Chinese Sinopharm jabs.

The certificate system was originally proposed by the European Commission in March to re-establish free movement within the bloc after restrictions.

After several rounds of negotiations, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU agreed on the regulation of COVID certificates on May 20.

By the demand of EU lawmakers, the EU budget will support member states with €100 million (over $122 million) in providing affordable PCR or antibody tests to avoid discriminating against those who have not been vaccinated.