In order to accelerate the recovery of the tourism industry, the European Union will officially launch the electronic version of the vaccine travel pass on July 1. However, the EU only recognizes passengers who have received EU-approved vaccines and does not need to undergo virus testing and mandatory isolation. The Chinese vaccine is not among the four vaccines approved by the EU, but countries can still decide whether to accept passengers with Chinese vaccine passports.
Although the epidemic persists, the European Union has decided to remove obstacles to the movement of citizens such as quarantine and virus screening in an attempt to restart the tourism industry on the European continent. Therefore, from July 1st, EU residents only need to hold the EU approval. Proof of the vaccine, you can travel freely between member states without isolation.
Member of the European Parliament Colin Osterley said, “Vaccine passports are free, and there are paper copies and digital versions, and the authenticity can be confirmed by scanning the QRCode.”
For a period of 12 months starting on July 1, all EU member states must issue and recognize vaccine passports for free. EU citizens and legal residents in possession, as long as they have been vaccinated, or have recently been screened negative, or have been infected but have recovered, and meet one of the three conditions, they can freely enter and leave the EU countries. The relevant information will be recorded in the In the pass.
The scope of application of the digital vaccine passport covers the 27 member states of the European Union, including Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The EU emphasizes that the opening of digital vouchers does not mean that passengers who have not been vaccinated cannot travel, but in principle, only passengers who have received EU-approved vaccines do not need to be quarantined or undergo additional screening. At present, the EU only recognizes 4 vaccine brands, namely BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, AZ (Astra Zeneca) and Johnson & Johnson. Passengers who have not received these 4 vaccines will enter the EU. Still subject to screening and isolation.
Chinese vaccines are not recognized by the European Union. Although the WHO has approved Coxing and Sinopharm for emergency use, these two vaccines have not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Since May, the European Medicines Agency has dealt with Kexing, Russian Satellite V, CureVac of Germany, and Ovavax of the United States. However, the European Union also stated that countries can still decide on their own whether to accept passengers with Chinese vaccine passports if they have not obtained vaccines approved by the European Union.
In the recent leaders summit held by the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel worries that tourist countries such as Greece and southern Europe will open the entry of tourists who administer vaccines to China and Russia; French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany have complete views. Unanimously, it is necessary to carefully select open vaccine types, and emphasize that the EU only recognizes vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency; Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also bluntly said that it will not recognize vaccines that are not approved by the EU because they are administered from Chile. From the experience of fighting, it has been known that the Chinese vaccine is unreliable.
French President Macron warned at the beginning of the year that the efficacy of the vaccine from Sinopharm Group or Kexing Biotech is still unknown because there is no information about the test. He said that there is no information about the Chinese vaccine. He also pointed out that if these vaccines are not effective, they may even contribute to the mutation of the virus.
Therefore, starting from June 9th, France has implemented the international passenger traffic light system and relaxed entry restrictions. If people from countries in low-risk areas have received the four vaccines designated by the EU, they do not need to produce a negative certificate or be quarantined.
However, the approved vaccines did not include Chinese vaccines, which caused China’s brain anger. The Chinese Embassy in France confirmed on its official website on the 14th that China-made vaccines are not yet recognized by France, and criticized France for not recognizing Chinese vaccines, and will not recognize Chinese vaccines. Classified as the orange area of the epidemic is an obvious political manipulation, threatening to impose reciprocal sanctions on France and retaliate.
Reported by Radio Free Asia reporter Cai Ling Paris Editor: Jiayuan Web Editor: Ruizhe