On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Greece’s accession to the EU, Greek Prime Minister Kyriákos Mitsotákis, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinás celebrated the launch of the Greek platform of the European health certificate, which should be one of the first operational in the EU, on Friday 28 May in Athens.
“This certificate will be available to all EU citizens from 1 July”, said the Greek prime minister, although Greece’s aim is to try and introduce it “sooner”.
“You have presented this first Covid certificate, which reflects this willingness to cooperate. And indeed, I was able to bear witness with you, when, as the first person around the table of the European Council several months ago, you worked to bring together a certain number of colleagues to advance this idea”, recalled for his part the President of the European Council. The idea for such a certificate to restore free movement in the EU had indeed emerged at the end of 2020 and arose at the first European Summit in 2021, supported not only by Greece, but also by countries such as Spain and Portugal.
The Spanish government also said on 28 May that the certificate would be applicable from July in Spain and that connectivity tests will start on 7 June, AFP reports. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)