People who have been vaccinated
should not be subject to additional
travel restrictions, such as quarantine, self-isolation or testing, while Covid testing should be universally free, says the European Parliament.
The Parliament, which is setting out
its negotiating position on the issue of Europe-wide digital health
certificates, said the move was necessary in order to avoid discrimination
against those not vaccinated and for economic reasons.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) also said the new document should
be known as an EU Covid-19 certificate rather than the Digital Green
Certificate name proposed by the European Commission and should be in place for
12 months and no longer.
MEPs said that while the proposed EU Covid-19 certificate would provide
proof of vaccination, testing or recovery from Covid, it “should not serve as
travel document nor become a precondition to exercise the right to free
movement”.
MEPs
said any EU certificate should work alongside
any initiative set up by the member states, should respect the same
common legal framework and be accepted by all EU members.
Juan Fernando López Aguilar, chair
of the Parliament's civil liberties committee and rapporteur, said: “We need to put in place
the EU Covid-19 Certificate to re-establish people’s confidence in Schengen
while we continue to fight against the pandemic. Member states must coordinate
their response in a safe manner and ensure the free movement of citizens within
the EU. Vaccines and tests must be accessible and free for all citizens. Member
states should not introduce further restrictions once the certificate is in
force.”
The proposal, approved by 540 votes to 119 and 31 abstentions, was widely applauded by the travel industry including bodies such as IATA, Airlines 4 Europe and ACI Europe who said that swift action and
alignment among European institutions was now critical in order to make the
certificates operational by June.
“The proposed amendments send a strong political message from the
Parliament on the urgency to restore free movement in the EU. This is not a
privilege - it is a right as one of the pillars of the single market enshrined
in the European treaties. Safely and swiftly re-establishing free movement is
both possible and vitally important,” the airline association said.