Covid: EU unveils 'digital green certificate' to allow citizens to travel

The European commission has unveiled a “digital green certificate” that could allow EU citizens who have been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from Covid-19 to travel more freely within the bloc this summer. The plan would also allow southern states such as Spain, Greece and Portugal, whose economies are most reliant on tourism, to make bilateral arrangements with non-EU members – including Britain – providing the deals are approved by the commission. “We aim to help member states reinstate the freedom of movement in a safe, responsible and trusted manner,” the EC president, Ursula von der Leyen, said as the scheme was unveiled on Wednesday. The digital document, containing a QR code and carried on a mobile phone, has deliberately not been called a “vaccine passport” because some member states felt that would discriminate against those who had not yet been offered a shot. Commission officials have been at at pains to stress it should be considered as a common framework to help national governments manage intra-bloc travel as vaccination programmes advance and restrictions gradually ease.<br/>