The certification system was supposed to remain in effect until 30 June this year. The spokesperson for the community executive, Wigand: “We are not out of the pandemic yet”
The pandemic still bites, there is the unknown Omicron and that of the possible other variants. Basically, there are no conditions to return to normal. Given the situation, the European Commission is forced to propose to keep the European green pass system in force for travel in the EU territory and in the Schegen area (EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland). Introduced on July 1, the certification system was intended to remain in effect until June 30 this year as a transitional measure to address the challenges posed by the health crisis. Member States are now being asked to extend another 12 months, until 30 June 2023.
“We are not out of the pandemic yet”, explains the spokesman responsible for the community executive, Christian Wigand, who recalls that the EU had given itself a year to understand whether to eliminate or keep the digital certificate valid throughout the territory where it is free movement guaranteed. The point is that there is no general improvement in the health situation right now. COVID-19 “continues to be prevalent in Europe and at this stage it is not possible to determine the impact of a possible increase in infections in the second half of 2022 or the emergence of new variants”. Hence the request to continue in this way. “It is not a permanent system, it remains a temporary measure,” says Wigand.
The hope is that in the meantime we can get out of the pandemic phase (unpredictability) and enter the endemic one (stabilization). In that case, the measures at European level could be reshaped, but waiting for a change that does not exist, we continue to think in terms of a pandemic.
In the proposal to the Council and the Parliament, the Commission also calls for the inclusion of high quality laboratory antigen tests among the types of tests for which a test certificate can be issued. And, for a better European system, governments are advised to ensure that vaccination certificates contain the correct total number of doses administered in any Member State and not just in the Member State issuing the certificate. Now the provision is being examined by the other two Community institutions. In Brussels, we are confident that an agreement can be reached on the proposal in time to extend the Covid electronic certificate regime starting from 1 July.
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