EU proposes COVID-19 pass plan to allow free travel by summer

 The proposal foresees the creation of the vaccine certificates which will facilitate travel from one member state of the EU to another.

The executive body of the European Union on March 17, 2021, proposed the introduction of Coronavirus passes. It will allow its 450 million residents to travel freely across the 27 nation-bloc by the summer of 2021.

The plan will be discussed next week during the European Union leaders summit. The proposal foresees the creation of the vaccine certificates which will facilitate travel from one member state of the EU to another.

The proposal of introducing the Coronavirus passes for travel has been the topic of discussion for the past few weeks and it has also proved to be a divisive topic.

Proposal to resume travel by European Commission:

In order to secure the agreement of all the member states of the European Union, the Commission has proposed that its COVID-19 passes, called Digital Green Certificates, will be delivered to the residents of the member states of the European Union who will be able to prove that they have been vaccinated.

The certificate will also be available for those residents who have been tested negative for the Coronavirus or have proof that they have recovered from it. It will also be free of any kind of charge.

Pressure from countries dependent on tourism:

The travel industry as well as the Southern European countries that are dependent on tourism, such as Greece or Spain, have been pushing the European Union for the quick introduction of the measures which will help in avoiding testing requirements and quarantines so that tourism in these countries can be resumed seamlessly.

However, several member states of the EU, including France, have argued that it will be discriminatory and premature to introduce such passes for travel since a large majority of the European Union citizens have not had access to the Coronavirus vaccines so far.