The vaccination travel certificate system has already been introduced in seven European Union nations weeks ahead of the July 1 rollout of the program across the 27-nation bloc.
It is reported that Greece, Germany, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark and Poland have already started the implementation of the certificates, as per the European Commission.
Greece, whose economy greatly relies on tourism, has been emphasizing on the use of a commonly-recognized vaccination certificate that uses a QR code with advanced security features. The country has not started issuing certificated to travellers who have been fully vaccinated, previously contracted the virus, and those who have had a PCR test taken within the previous 72 hours.
The document is given in both paper and digital forms. The certificate will be free of charge and will be valid in all countries across the bloc. It will be featured in the national language along with English.
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said, “EU citizens are looking forward to travelling again, and they want to do so safely. Having an EU certificate is a crucial step on the way.”
Greece’s Digital Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis commented that as nations gear up to implement the new verification standard, hassle-free travel will open up within the EU. He said that countries will soon stop issuing certificates using their own convention and adopt the common convention. This will substantially simplify the process in the near future, as one can imagine the number of bilateral agreements that would otherwise be required.
Pierrakakis continued to add that in order for the system to be functioning in time for the holiday season, all EU countries will need to fully finalise their national systems to issue, store and verify certificates, within the next few weeks.
According to the EU Commission, those who are vaccinated, for over 14 days after receiving the shot, should not be required to test to go under quarantine, regardless of where they are arriving from. However, this has not been sanctioned by the member notions yet.
