23/06/2022 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 23 June, the European Parliament definitively validated, by 453 votes to 119 with 19 abstentions, the extension of the legal basis of the EU Covid certificate which can be used in the Member States until 30 June 2023 by EU citizens, and by 454 votes to 112 with 20 abstentions the legal basis for certificates for citizens of third countries. The current regulation expires on 30 June. The Commission will have to report at the end of 2022 on the relevance of this mechanism adopted in 2021, to facilitate the return to free movement in the midst of a pandemic. The S&D group supported the extension “as a precaution”, it said in a statement, while several Greens/EFA MEPs, such as France’s Michèle Rivasi, voted against, saying the certificate was no longer justified. Links to the text: https://aeur.eu/f/29h ; https://aeur.eu/f/29i (SP)