EU talks with US on vaccine passports making little progress

Negotiations between the European Union and the U.S. to recognise each other’s vaccination passes are struggling to make headway due to the absence of a federal certification system in America, according to a diplomatic memo seen by Bloomberg. EU ambassadors were told at a meeting on Thursday that the European Commission is, however, in an advanced stage of talks with the UK, and in contact with Japan, Australia and Canada. Discussions with Ottawa were described as promising and officials are hoping that the EU’s Covid certificates will be recognised in September when Canada is due to reopen travel to vaccinated non-US travelers, the memo says. The talks are taking place as Europe and much of the western world starts to gradually open up air travel after it ground to a near halt during the pandemic. But with the delta variant becoming dominant in much of the EU, and vaccination and infection rates varying significantly across countries, rules remain patchy. Some countries require people to quarantine while others only allow vaccinated arrivals. The US has been slow to lift a ban on visitors from most of Europe instituted during the Trump administration and continued by President Joe Biden. The EU launched its Covid pass, which also registers negative tests, at the beginning of the month. The commission told ambassadors that as of 19 July, more than 290m certificates had been issued, of which 230 million are vaccination passes. It also noted that by early July 2021, air traffic had increased by 20% and was expected to reach more than 60% of 2019 levels this month. Some member states now require a Covid pass to enter certain events and settings, such as soccer stadiums and indoor restaurants. The bloc’s executive arm explained that talks with non-EU countries were about ensuring that passes were interoperable, and met technical and security standards.<br/>