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EU and WHO Aiming for Universal Recognition of Health Certificates

Photo source: @European Commission

The EU and the World Health Organization (WHO) are working to achieve the universal recognition of the so-called digital green certificates, which will enable restriction-free travel between member states, the European Commission announced on twitter.

The Commission said it is aiming to launch the certificates by summer, adding that it was working closely with EU countries to identify technical solutions that can be deployed rapidly; to ensure that the authenticity of certificates can be checked securely throughout the EU; and to enable mutual recognition.

The Commission is expected to present its proposal for the digital green certificates next week. Any decision will require European Parliament and member states approval. Once the proposal is approved, EU nations will have to set up digital infrastructure by the summer that will facilitate certificate authentication and introduce the necessary changes to their national health record systems. 

Digital green certificates will indicate whether a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19, recovered from Covid-19, or holds a negative test result.

The digital document should meet all data protection, security, and privacy requirements and be set up on the basis of the interoperability guidelines and the common data set for test results to which EU countries have agreed already, the Commission said, adding that it was currently working with WHO to ensure that the documents issued in the EU will be recognized worldwide.

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About the Author
Chicago-born and raised, Maria Paravantes has over two decades of journalistic experience covering tourism and travel, gastronomy, arts, music and culture, economy and finance, politics, health and social issues for international press and media. She has worked for Reuters, The Telegraph, Huffington Post, Billboard Magazine, Time Out Athens, the Athens News, Odyssey Magazine and SETimes.com, among others. She has also served as Special Advisor to Greece’s minister of Foreign Affairs, and to the mayor of Athens on international press and media issues. Maria is currently a reporter, content and features writer for GTP Headlines.
  1. Jan Kallish Reply

    I have yet to read any news about the possibility of US citizens visiting Greece. Though the UK and Greece now have an agreement and UK citizens will be allowed entry Mid May, there is no news for Americans. If there are any updates, please let us know. Many thanks. Desperate to get to Greece!

  2. Robert Ferguson Reply

    Hopefully more time will be given for a covid test 72 hours is not enough time, maybe increase it by 48 hours.
    And what happens to people line myself who had tge virus and recovered before the tests were available.

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