EU reaches deal on approving COVID 'travel pass'
May 21, 2021
Paris [France], May 21 : European lawmakers have reached an agreement that would allow people to travel among European countries through a digital proof of coronavirus vaccination status, COVID test results, or recovery from an infection, as per DW News.
The deal a step toward normalizing global movement after more than a year in which the modern, interconnected world has seemed on pause because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Washington Post.
The agreement seeks to eliminate quarantine requirements for people who can prove they are at low risk of having COVID-19 because they are vaccinated, have recently tested negative for the coronavirus, or have already recovered from the disease.
The plan will set up a digital certificate system that policymakers hope will make it easy for travelers to prove their status. It will go into effect July 1, although EU countries will have another six weeks to implement it if they are not ready by then, it said further.
Jeroen Lenaers, MEP from the center-right European People's Party bloc, the largest in the European Parliament, tweeted: "In a couple of weeks, we will have a unified European digital COVID certificate, which will be recognized all over the EU and will massively simplify cross-border traveling."
"It is a major success that we have prevented contradictory national procedures and certificates," he added further, reported by DW news as well.