EU leader's call for revising vaccine passport policy
The European Union has agreed on a digital vaccine passport as part of broader efforts to create digital identity and health verification systems. This digital passport is expected to underpin a uniform, common database that will facilitate travel and health data exchange across the EU.
The necessary details for the common database include standardized security protocols and verification methods, an interoperable EU-wide electronic data exchange system, harmonized national deployment plans, and data fields that ensure each digital vaccine certificate contains essential information.
The EU's approach to unified digital travel and health data governance suggests that the vaccine passport database will follow similar procedures. The EU Parliament supports swift digital transitions and security enhancements, aiming for interoperable systems across member states.
The Green politician has demanded a swift implementation of a digital version of the vaccine passport by the federal government. He considers the agreement on the EU vaccine passport an important signal and emphasizes the need for a common European approach, not a European patchwork. He also stresses the importance of coordinated rules for the recognition of tests and for quarantine in travel.
However, the exact detailed progress on the vaccine passport database implementation remains limited. The institutional framework and technical methods from related EU digital identification systems provide the blueprint for its realization.
It is worth noting that the Green politician did not discuss the potential impact of the vaccine passport on commuters, business, or holiday travel in this statement. He also did not specify a timeline for the implementation, nor did he mention the potential risks of implementing the vaccine passport if vaccinated persons are still infectious.
Manfred Weber, chairman of the EPP group in the European Parliament, is advocating for a swift implementation of the vaccine passport. He believes that the vaccine passport could bring relief for commuters, business, and holiday travel.
Franziska Brantner, European political spokeswoman for the Greens in the Bundestag, shares the same view as Weber. She believes a uniform implementation throughout the EU and a common data base are necessary for the vaccine certificate.
References: 1. EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) 2. EU's Shared Fund Management Common System (SFC) 3. EU's eu-LISA 4. QR codes for vaccination certificates 5. EU's digital COVID certificate
- The policy-and-legislation for the EU's digital vaccine passport would likely be influenced by the procedures and frameworks of existing digital systems such as the EU's Shared Fund Management Common System (SFC), Entry/Exit System (EES), and eu-LISA.
- Amidst the debate on the digital vaccine passport, both the Green politician and Manfred Weber, chairman of the EPP group in the European Parliament, have emphasized the importance of general-news topics like facilitating travel, especially for commuters and holiday travel, in discussing the potential impact of the vaccine passport.
