Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Freedom of travel for vaccinated persons
Berlin wants to talk about the EU vaccination pass
In Israel, the spread of the coronavirus by vaccinated people is falling. This is "great news," says Germany's Minister of State for Europe, Roth. Easier travel linked to a European vaccination certificate is once again up for debate.
The federal government is open to new talks about an EU vaccination certificate and the associated travel facilities. The background is a study from Israel on the low spread of the coronavirus by vaccinated people. The investigation was "great news," said European Minister of State Michael Roth before consultations with his EU colleagues. It is therefore clear that the EU will soon have to put the subject of vaccination certification "back on the agenda".
It must be about a common approach to what the vaccinated status means "for mobility in the European Union", said Roth. In particular, EU countries that are heavily dependent on tourism, such as Greece, have been campaigning for weeks to allow vaccinated people to travel again soon.
However, these demands had been criticized as premature by other EU states. It was pointed out in particular that only a small proportion of the population are currently vaccinated and thus "privileges" could arise for those vaccinated if they could travel or visit restaurants, for example.
Vaccination certificates "also important for Germany"
According to media reports, an unpublished study from Israel now shows that the corona vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer prevents almost 90 percent of the virus being transmitted to others. The study is based on data from more than 1.7 million people who were vaccinated.
Roth said vaccination certificates could become important not only for tourist countries, but also "for us in Germany". However, he affirmed that a "significant proportion" of the population should be vaccinated in order to use it for relief. The EU Commission also pointed out in mid-January that there should be no different treatment of certain groups when it comes to making travel easier.
The EU ministers for Europe are currently preparing the video summit for heads of state and government on Thursday and Friday. The focus of the consultations is once again a joint approach to the corona pandemic. In addition to the spread of virus mutations and therefore border controls introduced by Germany, among other things, according to diplomats, the question on the agenda is whether vaccination certificates should be used or not.
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