The European Commission will be proposing rules for an EU vaccine ‘green pass’ this month, as commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen shared Monday.
We'll present this month a legislative proposal for a Digital Green Pass. The aim is to provide:
•Proof that a person has been vaccinated
•Results of tests for those who couldn’t get a vaccine yet
•Info on COVID19 recoveryIt will respect data protection, security & privacy
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 1, 2021
Taking to Twitter she shared, ‘We’ll present this month a legislative proposal for a Digital Green Pass’, explaining that it would aim to provide proof of vaccination and of COVID-19 test results.
Meanwhile, the pass would grant people to gradually ‘move safely in the European Union or abroad — for work or tourism’. Such a mechanism was proposed by both Malta and Greece.
The Digital Green Pass should facilitate Europeans‘ lives.
The aim is to gradually enable them to move safely in the European Union or abroad – for work or tourism.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 1, 2021
Elsewhere, in a meeting with German MEPs and MPs, von der Leyen said her EU executive would soon seek to create a technical base for the digital documentation so that it is accepted across all 27 member countries of the EU.
She also said that the vaccine certificate could be launched in just three months’ time and that it would uphold data protection standards. This will be the same pass employed by Israel, as a digital or physical document proves the bearer has been inoculated.
As it stands, opinions vary among the EU as tourist-dependent countries like Greece and airline lobby groups want the green pass to serve as a ‘vaccine passport’, enabling immunised people to avoid tests or quarantine when travelling.
However, most EU countries like Germany fear it would create a two-tier society where vaccinated people enjoy a restriction-free life while the majority waits for the jab.
