Merkel: Vaccine passports will appear before summer

“Everyone agreed that we needed a digital vaccination certificate,” Merkel told a news conference on Thursday, adding that it would take the European Commission around three months to establish a technical basis for such documents, Reuters reports.

“It would certainly be great to have such a certificate in the future, but that does not mean that only those [skiepų] passports of people. As a result, no political decisions have yet been made, “Merkel told reporters.

According to Bloomberg, with the couple’s sources, the growing support for digital certificates that indicate whether a person has been vaccinated or a coronavirus test was negative, about acquired immunity, etc., has also weakened Merkel’s position on this. topic.

It is true that the president of the European Commission, Ursula von del Leyen, has called for a faster search for solutions, since American technology companies, she said, have already discussed an alternative with the World Health Organization (WHO).

“It is important that Europe has a solution, otherwise others will fill this gap,” von der Leyen told a short press conference. – Googe and Apple have already submitted proposals to the WHO. This is sensitive information, so we want to know exactly that we will find a European solution. “

A man familiar with Apple’s position on the matter and who wishes to remain anonymous expressed the opinion that von der Leyen may have formed a misconception about the situation. According to him, Apple has not spoken to the WHO or the EU about the possible development of a digital vaccine passport.

French President Emmanuel Macron was more skeptical about the duration of immunity, the risk of infection for those who have already been vaccinated and the legal and ethical aspects of personal data protection, said two people familiar with the content of his comments.

“We have a united EU approach,” he told reporters. “It’s obvious because there is no other option.”

It does not predict that travel restrictions will soon be lifted.

European Union leaders warned Thursday that travel restrictions must remain in place as the bloc continues to work to address the coronavirus vaccination stalemate.

Following a videoconference summit that highlighted newer variants of the virus that are spreading faster and that are jeopardizing the population’s immunization strategy, EU leaders told reporters that it would take months rather than weeks to accumulate. sufficient vaccine stocks.

“The epidemiological situation remains dire and the new options pose additional challenges,” the 27 leaders said in a statement after the meeting.

“Therefore, we must maintain strict restrictions by intensifying efforts to accelerate the supply of vaccines,” they added.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, warned: “We know that the next few weeks will be difficult for vaccination.”

But he also expressed some optimism, saying: “We have the tools, we have the resources, we have the ability to succeed in the coming months.”

Threat of new options

European Commission President U. von der Leyen, who was also a doctor before entering politics, said the variant of the coronavirus B117, first identified in the UK, has now been detected in all 27 countries of The EU.

“The South African variant has been identified in 14 member states and the Brazilian variant in seven,” he added, referring to the most contagious strains of coronavirus, which are of great concern to health officials.

“We have many challenges ahead of us,” he warned.

Brussels’ vaccination strategy is being interrupted by significantly lower vaccine deliveries than planned in the first quarter of this year, and the Swedish and British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca drastically reduced its responsibilities.

Leaders of the pharmaceutical sector, including Pascal Soriot, director of AstraZeneca, promised in a separate meeting with MEPs that the situation would improve as production capacity strengthened and new vaccines were found.

However, the EU capitals are currently under pressure to lift some of the severe travel restrictions and restrictions.

Some leaders want Europe to create a “green passport” system that allows vaccinated people to return to normal life.

After the summit, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the proposal received widespread support. However, von der Leyen and German Chancellor Merkel warned that such a scheme would take at least three months to develop.

Merkel said that in the meantime, many EU countries may have already developed national vaccination cards and that they would be compatible at the European level, making it possible to travel with more information.

However, the chancellor cautioned that this did not mean that those without vaccine passports would not be able to travel.

French President Macron, for his part, said: “Not all of our population has access to vaccines, which are currently administered on a voluntary basis and, until now, based on age criteria, so such a document would not confer any special rights of vaccinated people “.

Macron noted that vaccines are administered primarily to the elderly and vulnerable, and warned that younger people should not be discriminated against when it comes to travel.

“I will never allow the possibility of entering one country or another to depend on one certificate or another,” emphasized the French leader.

Achievable goal

Despite fears that some countries were not prepared to distribute millions of doses of vaccines, Mr von der Leyen expressed confidence that the target of a total vaccination rate of 70% would be reached by mid-September. adult population of the block.

“We believe this goal will be achieved,” he told reporters.

He presented the figures discussed at the summit, which show that the EU should have received almost 600 million euros by the end of June. different doses of pandemic coronavirus vaccines.

This amount would be enough to vaccinate 255 million people in two doses. adult population of the Community if the agreed delivery times for vaccines are confirmed.

According to the head of the European Commission, around 6.4% have been vaccinated with at least the first dose so far. of 450 million population of the block.

“Excluding children and adolescents, that’s 8 percent. Of the adult population,” he said.

However, Brussels is concerned that new strains of coronavirus may require additional injections specifically designed for these virus variants. This would mean that vaccination certificates should be kept up to date.

Disagreements within the Community have also been fueled by severe border restrictions imposed by some countries to curb the spread of new varieties. The European Commission considers these measures to be disproportionate.

He sent warning letters to Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary and Sweden about his measures, instructing them to respond by the end of next week.