Since yesterday, 1 July, the EU Digital COVID Certificate Regulation entered into application. This means that EU citizens and residents will now be able to have their Digital COVID Certificates issued and verified across the EU. Before the deadline, already 21 Member States, as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein had started to issue certificates, and 5 EU countries started yesterday.

The goal of the EU Digital COVID Certificate is to facilitate safe and free movement in the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to exempt holders from restrictions such as quarantine. The EU Digital COVID Certificate will be accessible for everyone and it:

• covers COVID-19 vaccination, test and recovery;
• is free of charge and available in all EU languages;
• is available in a digital and paper-based format;
• is secure and include a digitally signed QR code;

Under the new rules, Member States must avoid imposing additional travel restrictions on holders of an EU Digital COVID Certificate, unless they are necessary and proportionate to safeguard public health. Moreover, the Commission committed to mobilising €100 million under the Emergency Support Instrument to support Member States in providing affordable tests.

Background

On 17 March, the European Commission presented a proposal to create an EU COVID Certificate to facilitate the safe free movement of citizens within the EU during the pandemic. On 20 May, co-legislators reached a provisional agreement. On 1 June, the technical pillar of the systems, the EU gateway, came into force, which allows the verification of the security features contained in the QR codes. In time for the 1 July deadline, all 30 EU and EEA countries are linked live to the gateway. As of 1 June, the first Member States started to issue certificates; in total, 21 EU countries anticipated the deadline of 1 July.

Following the official signature on 14 June, the Regulation was published on 15 June. It entered into application yesterday, 1 July, with a phasing-in period of six weeks for the issuance of certificates for those Member States that need additional time.

Image © European Commission, 2021