The Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU and representatives of the European Parliament reached an agreement late Thursday afternoon, 20 May, on the European digital green certificate, which will be called the ‘European Covid Certificate’ and will be operational from mid-June.
“Even if today’s agreement does not fully meet Parliament’s demands, it is a major step forward from the status quo for millions of EU citizens”, reacted the chair of Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, Spain). “This agreement is the first step to put the Schengen area back on track”.
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa also welcomed the agreement on his Twitter account. EU leaders will take note of it at their level on 24-25 May.
The main disagreement between Parliament and the EU Council concerned the free PCR tests associated with the digital green certificate that were demanded by Parliament, as well as the measures restricting free movement for people with this tool. They had failed to reach agreement on 18 May (see EUROPE 12722/2).
The compromise reached gives Parliament a victory with regard to the cost of the tests, with the Commission announcing the mobilisation of €100 million from the European Emergency Instrument (ESI) to help Member States fund the tests. In this way, the Member States also preserve their national competence with regard to health and do not commit themselves in a regulation to granting free or specific prices for the tests. The Commission will be able to mobilise a further €100 million, according to the statement.
Parliament also shifted the EU Council’s position on free movement: Member States will have to “avoid” reintroducing additional measures such as testing or quarantine for people with this tool, “unless” the health situation requires them to do so.
Available scientific evidence, “including epidemiological data published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, should also be taken into account”, the compromise also states.
“We welcome this agreement which establishes common and non-discriminatory rules [...] In this negotiation, our group has particularly insisted on access to affordable tests”, reacted Dacian Cioloș, president of the Renew Europe group.
As a reminder, this certificate will be available in digital and paper format and is free of charge. It will certify that the holder has been vaccinated against the coronavirus or has recently tested negative or recovered from the infection. The certificates will be accepted throughout the EU.
The regulation is scheduled to last 12 months, and Member States will have a transition period of 6 weeks to implement it, if they need more time. The EU ambassadors could validate the agreement on 21 May, but this meeting was not yet confirmed on Thursday evening.
EUROPE will continue to follow this story. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Camille Cerise Gessant)