EU Moves Closer To Launching Digital Vaccine Pass

Faizan Hashmi Published April 14, 2021 | 08:15 PM

EU ambassadors agreed on Wednesday to move ahead with the plan to get the coronavirus vaccination certificate scheme operational by summer, according to the prime minister of Portugal, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th April, 2021) EU ambassadors agreed on Wednesday to move ahead with the plan to get the coronavirus vaccination certificate scheme operational by summer, according to the prime minister of Portugal, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council.

"I welcome this first step. It shows that we are ready to engage constructively with the European Parliament and the Commission... in order to have the certificate and the system fully operational this summer," Antonio Costa said.

Costa added that the pandemic remained of great concern, but the EU needed workable solutions, he said, to get member economies back on track toward recovery. The digital pass will cover the EU and allied nations Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

The EU plans to get the digital pass scheme going by the start of the summer travel season in a bid to shore up the faltering tourism business. The European Parliament is expected to push the vote on the start of certificate talks forward to April 26-29.