National governments must stop blocking EU COVID-19 Certificate

19.05.2021 12:45

National governments must stop blocking EU COVID-19 Certificate

Picture of people with Digital International Certificate of COVID-19

The EPP Group is pushing for the swift introduction of the EU COVID-19 Certificate. Unfortunately, due to the position of some Member States, the Council and the Parliament failed to close a deal during the third round of the negotiations on the proposed Regulation on the EU COVID-19 Certificate.

“Despite the fact that we proposed balanced compromises regarding the cost of testing and the restriction of free movement, we didn’t manage to find an agreement”, said Jeroen Lenaers MEP, EPP Group Spokesman in the European Parliament's Civil Liberties and Home Affairs Committee. “We don’t have much time, we need a united approach to restart the economy, tourism and to save the summer”, Lenaers continued.

The EPP Group wants to introduce the EU COVID-19 Certificate as quickly as possible. Anyone who has such a certificate should be allowed to travel freely across internal European borders again. Member States should not add other travel restrictions on top.

"We insist that testing for the purpose of the certificate must be free of charge in order to avoid discrimination and we ask for a European solution. For this reason, we proposed the use of the Emergency Support Instrument to assign the money needed for free testing. Time is running out and we have to work it out together. The EU Member States have to lift their blocking position and move forward in order to have the certificates up and running in June”, concluded Lenaers.

Note to editors

The EPP Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament with 178 Members from all EU Member States

Other related content