On May 4, the European Parliament gave the green light to extend the validity of the Covid EU digital certificate for another year, until June 2023. The final go-ahead will now require an agreement with the EU Council, ie with governments . Negotiations will kick off immediately to ensure that the rules take effect before the current regime expires on 30 June.
The impact of the extension
However, it should be noted that the extension of the validity of the Covid EU digital certificate will only be “theoretical”, without impacting the decisions of the member states, each of which remains sovereign in health matters. The EU COVID digital certificate was in fact adopted in June 2021, for a period of 12 months, to facilitate free movement in Europe during the pandemic, as it is a certificate in digital and / or paper format with a QR code. valid in all EU countries.
The rules in Italy
But the rules change according to the destination countries. Today the “green certificate” certifying vaccination, healing or nagative (antigenic / molecular) swab continues to be necessary for entry only in some EU countries (for example Germania, France, Austria, Spain, Portugal), including theItalia where on April 28, the Minister of Health Roberto Speranza signed an order extending the current measures for arrivals from abroad to May 31, so that foreign tourists and Italians returning home must continue to show the vaccination or recovery pass . Or alternatively a tampon.
Countries that no longer require the certificate
But the majority of EU countries have now eliminated anti-Covid restrictions. To enter in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Switzerland, Luxembourg travelers are not required to provide more proof of vaccination, Covid recovery, or a negative test.
Revision after six months
It is no coincidence that the Strasbourg MEPs want the period of application of the certificate to be as short as possible and ask the Commission to evaluate, six months after the current annual extension, the usefulness and conformity of the certificate and its revocation as soon as the epidemiological situation will allow it.