Pack your swimsuit, towel and corona vaccination certificate and off you go on holiday fun on Mallorca, Madeira or Mykonos in summer 2021? It would be nice.
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The 27 EU states are checking this Thursday at their video summit whether and how they are introducing a joint document to prove corona vaccinations. And this is linked to the question of whether this EU vaccination certificate could open the door to easier travel and other privileges. But whether that will come in time for the summer season is in the stars.
What is the matter?
The prime minister of the holiday oasis Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, gave the impetus. He advocated an EU-wide vaccination pass as documentation of corona vaccinations and demanded: “The people who are vaccinated must be allowed to travel freely.” Thereupon the EU Commission made a proposal on Tuesday that the EU states and Heads of government should check: By the end of January, the 27 should agree on a common approach to “vaccination certificates”. These could then quickly become usable “in the health systems in the EU and beyond”. The commission left it open as to whether this would mean easier travel or other privileges.
Who is in favor of the proposal?
Spain supports the Greek advance. “This could help restore mobility at European level,” said Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto of the newspaper “La Vanguardia”. Portugal also responded positively.
Other countries are hesitating. Too few people are still vaccinated and too many questions unanswered, so the tenor. Above all, it is unclear whether you can infect other people despite being vaccinated. Even the classic holiday countries do not agree. Croatia, for example, has no official position. Austria advocates uniform vaccination certificates, but against compulsory vaccination.
What will the EU summit decide?
The expectation of the video summit is: decision for a uniform document yes, but not yet on the use, so it said an EU representative on Wednesday. According to EU circles, which data is recorded and whether this should possibly happen digitally must be discussed in detail.
Why are there concerns about benefits for vaccinated people?
Privileges for vaccinated people could mean compulsory vaccination through the back door and divide society – so argued Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer at the end of December. When Foreign Minister Heiko Maas now called for people who had been vaccinated to visit restaurants or cinemas earlier than others, he was also criticized. The main arguments: As long as not everyone has access to vaccination, advantages for vaccinated persons would be unfair; and indirect pressures to vaccinate could undermine confidence in politicians that have consistently insisted that vaccination is voluntary.
Are tour operators, hotels or airlines allowed to exclude people who have not been vaccinated from traveling?
Experts do not answer this clearly. That depends “on a large number of factors about which no reliable statement can be made at this point in time,” said the German Federal Ministry of Justice recently. Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) referred to the open question of whether vaccinated people can pass on the infection. Until this has been clarified, “it is forbidden to treat vaccinated people differently than non-vaccinated people”.
However, special rules for travelers have long been in place in the pandemic. “Even today, negative corona tests are often required by travelers – for example from numerous cruise companies,” said the German Travel Association (DRV). Traditionally, entry into certain countries can be linked to proof of vaccination.
Will the 2021 holiday season fall through?
It doesn’t have to be. The EU Commission considers a vaccination rate of 70 percent of adults in the European Union to be feasible by summer – with “summer” leaving a range between June and the end of August. The video summit will show whether the 27 states have the confidence to do so. The new, highly contagious virus mutations that could make vaccinations a race against time are considered a risk. If such a high vaccination rate is actually achieved, the Commission believes that this would be “the turning point” in the fight against the pandemic and could also save summer vacation. The uncertainty is likely to last a long time. For many, booking will probably be a last-minute decision. (dpa)
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