The European Parliament agrees with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission that the proposed ‘digital green certificate’ will help make life easier for Europeans who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, have recently tested negative or have recovered from the disease and will help them regain freedom of movement in the EU.
But it wants to be sure that this tool will have a real added value for citizens on the ground and will not become “just another piece of paper”, as some elected officials fear.
On Wednesday 28 April, with European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, and the Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ana Paula Zacarias, in attendance, MEPs debated at length the legislative proposal introducing this certificate (see EUROPE 12680/1), which they want to rename the ‘EU Covid-19 certificate’.
Under the urgent legislative procedure, MEPs adopted a mandate on Tuesday (the results will be known on Thursday morning, 29 April) to start negotiations with the Council of the EU, which took a position on 14 April (see EUROPE 12698/3).
But Parliament has drawn several red lines. It wants to ensure that people with this certificate will not be subject to additional restrictions on free movement, while people without the future document should not be penalised either.
As repeatedly requested by several MEPs, such as Sophie in 't Veld (Renew Europe, Netherlands), Parliament also wants a number of the PCR tests associated with the certificate to be free of charge.
But Mr Reynders quickly dismissed this request, arguing that the reimbursement of health care falls within the competence of the Member States. But, he said, the price of the tests should “remain affordable”. The Commission has funded the purchase of millions of rapid tests.
The European Commissioner, whose portfolio of competences includes free movement, has warned Member States that any use of the certificate other than for crossing intra-EU borders will have to be justified on a national legal basis and not through this regulation.
Twenty-five amendments. Parliament’s mandate contains 25 amendments to the draft regulation, including those of rapporteur Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, Spain), who coordinates the position of the Committee on Civil Liberties.
He insisted that “the possible need to verify the certificates established by this Regulation cannot in itself justify the temporary reintroduction of internal border controls”. “Internal border checks should only be used as a last resort”, he stressed.
On the type of vaccines, the Spanish Socialist considered that “in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination, Member States should also issue such vaccination certificates to EU citizens and their family members who have been vaccinated in a non-Member State with a Covid-19 vaccine [recognised by the EMA] and who provide reliable evidence to that effect”. The same goes for EU citizens who can prove that they have been vaccinated with a vaccine approved by WHO under the emergency procedure.
However, MEPs seem to be keeping many questions open about the tool, which could be operational by the end of June, in advance of the summer season. In particular, they continue to question the added value of the certificate if Member States can continue to impose restrictions on free movement, and they continue to deplore the uncoordinated measures in this area.
“What is the point of a common system if not to lift all these restrictions?”, Sophie in 't Veld asked.
See the amendments to the draft regulation: https://bit.ly/3eH2zn5 and https://bit.ly/3ny1x0z (in French) (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)