As of July 1, all citizens of European Union (EU) member states will have to start using the Digital COVID Certificate for international travel.
The The EU Digital COVID Certificate will work as a certified document using a QR code to prove that the user has received the COVID-19 vaccine and has a negative test for the disease. This will ease international travel within the EU, with no need to quarantine travelers arriving in other countries. It is a free application that will also be available in a printed version.
As of July 1, all EU countries will have to adopt this measure to facilitate international travel without restrictions and with the assurance that infections will not increase. Since May 10, 22 EU countries have tested the application, of which seven have already started using it. Inhabitants of Germany, Croatia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Poland and the Czech Republic have started to use this digital system.
The digital certificate was approved in a session of the European Parliament since May 20 of this year, and also obtained the support of the EU Regulatory Council, which was in charge of the technical aspects of this initiative. Therefore, the certificate is a reliable and secure system for the verification of COVID vaccination.
Companies in the travel industry, such as travel agencies, airlines and others, have called for the lifting of restrictions and the opening of international borders in the EU. Their plans include the return of freedom of mobility in the EU, through the use of the Digital COVID Certificate.
After July 1, the EU will provide a six-week extension in the issuance of Digital Certificates for those countries that will require more time to implement this technology.