Il green pass for traveling in the EU it will be a reality from July 1st. The European Council, the Commission and the EU Parliament have reached an agreement on the certificate which will allow citizens to move freely from one country to another in the European Union in view of the summer holidays, months that could give new breath to tourism weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The green pass will now have to be examined by the Civil Liberties Commission and then receive the green light from parliamentarians and the Council. The process should be completed within the first two weeks of June.
EU GREEN PASS: WHAT IT IS
It will be called "Eu digital certified Covid-19”, but will also be available in paper format. The working mechanism is similar to the green pass that we are experimenting in Italy from 16 May. The certificate will serve to certify that whoever owns it has already been vaccinated, has recovered from Covid-19 or has taken a rapid or molecular test resulting negative for the virus. By exhibiting it via mobile phone or in paper form, it will be possible to move from one country to another without having to undergo quarantine or further swabs. In fact, the Member States will not be able to establish further restrictions, which can only be imposed "on the basis of evidence", such as an increase in infections or the explosion of a major outbreak. In any case, each State will have to communicate any new stakes 48 hours before the entry into force.
EU GREEN PASS: THE "ACCEPTED" VACCINES
As for vaccinated citizens, the certificate will be issued to subjects who have received one of the 4 vaccines currently approved by the EMA, namely: Pfizer, Moderna (the two mRNA serums), AstraZeneca or the Johnson & Johnson single-dose. For subjects vaccinated with the Russian Sputnik or with one of the vaccines approved in China, each state will have the opportunity to evaluate the rules to be applied individually.
HOW THE EU GREEN PASS WORKS
Travelers will have to download an application on their smartphone with which it will be possible, if necessary, to exhibit the EU Green Pass. A QR Code will be present on the certificate which will allow access to a platform containing the travellers' data. The platform will specify if the citizen has been vaccinated, if he has a negative test or if he has recovered from Covid-19.
HOW LONG DOES IT LAST
The certificate will be valid for 12 months (and therefore until 1 July 2022 if requested on the same date in 2021) and, for vaccinated people, it will be issued after the second dose. Compared to the Italian green pass, therefore, there are two main differences: the latter can be issued 15 days after the first dose, but if it is received after the second, the duration is 9 months.
