As expected, on Thursday 25 February, the EU27 called for the free movement of goods and services within the Single Market to be guaranteed, in particular by making use of the ‘Green Lanes’ for transporters and essential workers. But they also considered that “for the time being, non-essential travel needs to be restricted”, according to the declaration they adopted.
Non-essential travel can always be restricted, “but these measures must be proportionate”, commented the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, at the end of the first working session by videoconference.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who has written to six Member States that have taken restrictive measures that are considered problematic (see EUROPE 12664/8), recalled that the Member States should “not forget that there is an EU Council recommendation, adopted unanimously” (see EUROPE 12647/3).
Ms von der Leyen acknowledged “a conflict between health situations and freedom of movement which must be resolved on a case-by-case basis”, while stressing that measures must always remain “proportionate”.
The question of proportionality was raised in particular in relation to the measures taken by Belgium to prohibit travel abroad and arrivals to that country, at least for one month. The Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander de Croo, explained that this measure is part of a set of provisions and, “in the delicate situation in which we find ourselves, we want to avoid the variants starting a fire and contributing to exponential growth”. Acknowledging that the measure must be “limited in time”, he also felt that more and more countries understand “Belgium’s reasoning”.
Measures “may be necessary to control the spread of variants of the virus, but the general principle remains the free movement of people, particularly in cross-border living areas”, commented the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
“We are all trying to make movement as free as possible, as well as letting commuters work, but of course this requires extra security, such as tests and so on”, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose government has decided to control the borders with the Czech Republic and Austria. However, controls along the Moselle in France are “not on the agenda” for the time being, she said.
3 months to finalise a European vaccination certificate
It is not yet a tool for free movement in the EU, but it could become one. Mr Michel indicated that the positions of the Member States are “converging” more and more on the European vaccination certificate, which some southern European countries want to use to make their tourist season successful this summer.
The technical work is progressing, said Ms von der Leyen, and that it will take 3 months to define a standard and interoperable model. There has already been agreement on the type of health data that this certificate will contain. According to Mr Michel, this certificate could contain, among other things, information on the PCR tests carried out.
“There are still open questions such as on the objectives of use and scientific issues”, added the President of the Commission, with doubts remaining about the immunity offered by vaccination. Each Member State will have to decide on the use of such a tool, but “at European level, it should be used to ensure the functioning of the internal market”, she added.
“I am pleased to see that the idea of a passport enjoys broad support among EU Member States. It is now a matter of implementing it as quickly as possible”, said Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz via Twitter. This should “finally allow freedom of travel within the EU again”, he said.
For the French president, however, “we cannot make access to a country conditional on this certificate” for the good reason that, this summer, “young people will not have been vaccinated”, he argued. Such a certificate cannot grant additional rights to those who have been vaccinated, added Mr Michel.
See the Statement of the EU27: http://bit.ly/2P3UBLu (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)