On Sunday, March 28th, during the TV program Le Grand Jury RTL-Le Figaro-LCI, European Commissioner Thierry Breton indicated that the EU health passport should be available by June 15th. The main objective of the passport would be to save the summer season by allowing the resumption of travel within the EU.
During the interview, Thierry Breton showed what the health passport would look like, in its digital version, and in its paper version, a document validated by the 27 EU countries. This sanitary passport will allow travelers to prove that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, that they have performed a negative PCR test or that they are immune. He stressed that vaccination will not be mandatory.
The pass is intended to be a provisional measure until the World Health Organization indicates that the pandemic is over.
We want to help member states re-establish freedom of movement in a safe and responsible way which gives confidence.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen
There will be a QR code, a smartphone and a paper version of the certificate that people can show if requested during travel. Breton said that the health certificate would be optional and that the EU as a whole would deliver 420 million vaccine doses to its member countries by July 15th.
.@ThierryBreton présente le passeport sanitaire qu'on pourra présenter une fois que l'on sera vacciné. #LeGrandJury #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/WdWv3atwqB
— Le Grand Jury (@LeGrandJury) March 28, 2021
Some member states, such as Belgium, have shown resistance to the idea of a passport because it could discriminate against people who have not been vaccinated. Even with the pass, people who have not been vaccinated, whether by choice or because they have not been offered a vaccine yet, may still have to follow measures such as quarantine if they travel.
States that impose quarantines, tests or refuse entry to people with the pass will have to justify such measures to EU authorities.
