The European Parliament and the EU member states’ negotiators have reached a deal to prolong the EU Digital COVID Certificate scheme for another year until June 2023. The scheme was set to expire on June 30. However, the EU authorities decided to extend the legal framework by a year in order to ensure that EU citizens have the right to free movement in case there is a new variant of concern, SchengenVisaInfo reports. Commenting on the decision, the Council said that the extension of this regulation would ensure that EU travellers and those from third countries that are connected to the system can continue using the Certificate for travel to the Member States where these travel certificates are required. Except for prolonging the current framework, the co-legislators also agreed on an obligation for the Commission to submit a detailed report by December 31, 2022. It has been noted that this report could be accompanied by legislative proposals to allow for the assessment of the need to repeal or maintain the certificate, depending on the health situation developments. In addition, co-legislators have also agreed that all vaccination certificates should reflect all doses administered, regardless of the member states where an individual received the vaccination.
Moreover, they agreed on the possibility of issuing a recovery certificate following an antigen test; the extension of the range of authorised antigen tests used to qualify for a COVID certificate; and the possibility of allowing vaccination certificates to be issued to persons that participate in clinical trials. The decision to extend the EU Digital COVID Certificate by one year has been welcomed by the EU Commission. The EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, said that with over 1.8 billion certificates issued, it is clear that the epidemiological situation can change at any time that the EU Digital COVID Certificate has been a key instrument in helping through the changing tides. Reynders pointed emphasised that the EU authorities are committed to a return to restriction-free movement and welcome the decision of some Member States to lift all travel restrictions. However, it has been noted that the new deal will help the EU to facilitate free and safe travel even more. “Today’s deal will help us continue to facilitate free and safe travel, should a rise in infections make it necessary for the Member States to temporarily reintroduce restrictions,” the statement of Reynders reads. The EU Parliament and the Council now need to formally adopt their agreement to extend the EU Digital COVID Certificate framework until next year. A report on the Certificate will be published by December 2022.
