The Commission introduces a Digital green certificate to facilitate travel within the EU

Digital green certificate to show citizens are vaccinated or Covid-free

The European Commission is planning the development of a Covid-19 certificate that would enable EU people to travel freely within the EU. The EU Commission will present the Digital green certificate on Wednesday, and citizens will be able to use them as proof while traveling between countries. The digital certificate will show that an individual has been vaccinated against COVID-19, that they have recovered from the virus, or that they have a negative test result.

Along with the EU Member States, the European Commission will identify technical solutions that can be deployed rapidly, ensure that the authenticity of certificates can be checked in a secure way everywhere in the EU, and enable the mutual recognition of certificates across the EU.

The certificate will be available in both electronic and paper formats. It will have a QR code to guarantee the certificate's authentication and validity. The Commission will provide a portal so all certificates can be checked anywhere in the EU, and it will assist Member States with certificate technical implementation.

Data safety, surveillance, and privacy requirements will be provided by European officials, who will begin planning in the coming months in order to be ready by summer.

Digital green certificates should be developed in accordance with the interoperability standards, which specify common data sets and specific identifiers for vaccination certificates. Also, common data is set for test results, which is something the European countries had already agreed on.

Digital green certificates to have a common framework for all Member States

The next step is to submit a legal framework to the Member States by mid-March, after which they will plan for the logistical roll-out of the certificates (issuance and verification). Following that, the Commission is expected to develop a digital framework to assist in the identification of digital green certificates in the summer, and EU countries will implement the required improvements in their national health record systems.

The European Commission is partnering with the World Health Organization to ensure that certificates granted in the EU are recognised globally. The Commission is also communicating with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which represents air transport around the world.