Back in the second half of April, Dr. László Csizmadia, Dr. Tamás Fricz, and Dr. Zoltán Lomnici, Jr., addressed President Ursula von der Leyen in an open letter on behalf of CÖKA and CÖF, to send the European Commission's position on vaccination certification.

The request was justified by the fact that a lot of fake news about the coronavirus epidemic has come to light in the EU, and therefore countless false information has spread in Hungary, for example, regarding the protection card, in connection with its particularly discriminatory nature.

The answer has been received, which is reported below.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR ENFORCEMENT AND CONSUMER POLICY

 

Directorate D: Equality and EU citizenship

D.3. Unit: Union citizenship and free movement of persons deputy head of unit

 

Brussels,

JUST.D.3/BM/kv (2021)3546324s

Dr László Csizmadia Dr Tamás Fricz

Dr Zoltán Ifj Lomnici

Civil Solidarity Public Foundation and Civil Solidarity Forum info@civilosszefogas.hu

 

Dear Sirs!

 

In my letter, I want to answer your concerns about the digital green certificate.

As the deputy head of the unit responsible for the free movement of persons, I was asked to respond to your letter.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Commission has worked tirelessly to promote cooperation and coordination between Member States. In this context, on March 17, 2021, the Commission adopted a legislative proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the creation of a " 1

This proposal will make a significant contribution to getting Europe moving again and, in time for the summer, will give the economy and especially the tourism sector a much-needed boost. Free movement is one of the most cherished rights of EU citizens, and the Commission is working to provide Member States with the tools they need to lift the restrictions currently in place in most of the EU.

In order to prevent discrimination against unvaccinated persons, the Commission proposed not only an interoperable vaccination card, but also cards that prove the results of the coronavirus tests performed, and which prove that the holder of the card has recovered from the Covid-19 disease.

In this way, all EU citizens can enjoy the benefits of the digital green card system after its creation.

The proposal aims to facilitate free movement by providing citizens with interoperable and mutually accepted certificates of Covid19 vaccination, testing and recovery that they can use during their travels. In the event that Member States waive certain restrictions on the free movement of persons holding certificates of vaccination, testing or recovery, the cards created by this proposal will enable citizens to take advantage of these exemptions. As more scientific data become available, in particular on the effects of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection or recovery from this disease, an interoperable framework for health cards should allow Member States to lift restrictions in a coordinated manner.

In any case, the Commission's proposal clearly states that the possession of a vaccination certificate is not a prerequisite for the exercise of the right to free movement or the use of cross-border passenger transport services.

The proposal is flexible enough to take into account new scientific evidence and guidelines that will inform the use of IDs as more is learned about the vaccine's effectiveness, the consequences of new variants, and the extent to which those who recover from the infection are protected.

IDs will be issued in digital or paper format, depending on the applicant's preference. Both versions have a QR code that contains the necessary key information and a digital signature to verify the authenticity of the document.

Data protection requirements and especially data saving are fully integrated into the proposal. Identity cards may only contain information necessary to facilitate citizens' right to free movement, such as personal data necessary for the issuance and verification of identity cards in connection with free movement. The framework of the "digital green certificate" does not require the creation and maintenance of an EU-level database, but enables the decentralized verification of digitally signed interoperable certificates.

The digital green certificate will no longer be used after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to ensure that the mechanism can be used again in case of future pandemics, the proposal includes a mechanism to allow it to be reactivated should it be needed in the future.

 

Please also see the information published on the Commission's website: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_1181 .

 

The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the certificate on 20 May. This interim agreement must be confirmed before the certificate becomes effective.

I hope you will find this information useful.

We wish you and your loved ones the best of health during this difficult time. Sincerely,

Monika MOSSHAMMER, deputy head of unit

Contact: Bénédicte MARQUET, just-citizenship@ec.europa.eu

 

Image source: nzz.ch