EU leaders to discuss Greek PM’s proposal for Covid ‘vaccination certificate’
European Union leaders will be discussing a proposal at the next European Council for a coronavirus “vaccination certificate” that would help ease travel among member-states, as put forward by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, the Greek premier recommended the establishment of a “standardized certificate, which will prove that an individual has been successfully vaccinated” against Covid-19. Such an initiative, Mitsotakis said, would be a “key step” in “ensuring the quickest possible re-establishment of freedom of movement between member-states, but also with third countries.”
European Commission spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker said on Tuesday that “all the issues brought up in this letter, together with other questions concerning vaccinations, will be discussed in the framework of the European Council.”
“We are awaiting the results of this important meeting and will be in a position to examine and respond to the letter we received from the [Greek] prime minister,” he added.
Along with the letter, Mitsotakis attached a draft certificate created by Greek authorities that could serve as a starting point for a discussion on such an initiative.
Mitsotakis said that while Greece will not make “vaccination compulsory or a pre-requisite for travel, persons who have been vaccinated should be free to travel.”
He added that such a move would also “provide a positive incentive” for citizens to be vaccinated.
