EU countries agree to COVID-19 travel certificate by end of June

The European Parliament and Council have agreed to work toward a COVID-19 travel certificate restoring free travel within the EU by the end of June.

Supporting the tourism sector and transport providers, the certificates will carry information in the relevant language and in English and will be issued by member states.

The certificate will be available in digital and paper format and outline whether a person has been vaccinated, has recovered from the virus, or has recently had a negative test result.

Although not a precondition for travel, the certificate will guarantee the holder can cross internal EU borders without additional requirements for one year.

All EU countries will be required to accept vaccination certificates issued in other states as long as they have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

EU citizens vaccinated outside of the territory will be able to request vaccination certificates if they provide reliable proof of having received a vaccine authorized for use in the member state.

To ensure data protection, no central database will be set up at EU level, and personal data from the certificates is forbidden to be retained by destination member states.

The regulation is set to come into effect on July 1.

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