The EU’s European Affairs Ministers took stock, on Tuesday 11 May, of the draft Digital Green Certificate, or ‘Covid-19 Certificate’ as the European Parliament wants to call it, while the co-legislators were due to meet again at the end of the day for a second negotiation meeting.
At the final press conference, the Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ana Paula Zacarias, said she hoped that an agreement could be reached “as soon as possible”, although some differences remain between the two parties.
One of the outstanding issues with the European Parliament is that the PCR tests associated with the certificate are free of charge. On this point, the Secretary of State said that Member States could see “what to do about the accessibility of these tests, but we cannot impose a price, it is the law of the market”.
Earlier in the day, German State Secretary Michael Roth said he hoped an agreement could be reached “within a few weeks”.
“This is not only important for the countries that depend on tourism, but for all of us: it is (...) a clear signal for freedom of movement and mobility in the European Union”, said the minister. “We need to send a clear message that we are making progress. This is very important in view of the summer”, he added. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)