For those in the European Union, proving your COVID status when travelling today will be a little easier, with the EU Digital COVID Certificate/EU Gateway going live with seven countries – a month ahead of schedule
The EU Digital COVID Certificate is a certificate that verified a person’s COVID-19 status in what the European Commission describes as “in a secure and privacy-friendly way”.
It was proposed by the European Commission to resume safe travelling this summer.
The certificate will be provided free of charge, secure and accessible to all, either in a digital form or in paper form. It will be proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, tested negative, or recovered from an infection.
The work comes after two months after the political agreement to enable this work.
In use, when presenting a certificated, no personal data is exchanged or retained. Rather, it is validated against the EU Gateway/
Since 10 May, 22 countries have already tested the gateway successfully. The full rollout will commence from the 1st of July.
However, with the EU Gateway live, seven EU Member state are now accepting the certificates.
They are
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic/Czechia
- Denmark
- Germany
- Greece
- Croatia
- Poland
More countries will join in the coming days and weeks. An updated overview is available on a dedicated webpage.
In Quotes
Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said:
“The Go-Live of the Gateway today is an important step which will allow Member States to start using the Gateway and start issuing EU Digital COVID Certificates. Seven Member States is a good start. I encourage others to follow as soon as possible. The timely preparation will allow the full system to be up and running by 1 July – when the proposal enters into application and the EU will be on time to open up again this summer.”
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, added:
“The EU Digital COVID Certificate shows the value added of effective e-health solutions for our citizens. It is important that during the coming weeks, all Member States fully finalise their national systems to issue, store and verify certificates, so the system is functioning in time for the holiday season. EU citizens are looking forward to travelling again, and they want to do so safely. Having an EU certificate is a crucial step on the way.”
Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, said:
“The EU Digital COVID Certificate provides European citizens with a common tool to allow them to move freely and safely again. It showcases Europe’s technological leadership in full respect of our values and principles: data protection, inclusiveness, and proportionality. It is important that all Member States use the next weeks to get fully ready, so the system will be fully up and running on 1 July.”
More information
The European Union has produced Questions and Answers, Factsheet and an in-depth Website that covers the subject in great detail.
For those within the European Union, it will be one way to prove your COVID status when travelling – something important as the EU opens back up to allow its citizens to move freely (and subject to any restriction in play).
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