The N-VA votes in favour of the Digital Green Certificate in the European Parliament

“Our companies, entrepreneurs and the tourism sector are bleeding. The Digital Green Certificate is needed to be able to travel safely and to start the recovery. But privacy must also be guaranteed,” MEP Assita Kanko says.

Society and business are groaning under travel restrictions: people can no longer see their loved ones, international trade is not only suffering from Brexit but also from COVID-19, and our tourism industry is shrinking. The “Digital Green Certificate” is a unique QR code, digital or on paper, that citizens will have to take with them to travel internationally within the EU to demonstrate compliance with the applicable COVID-19 requirements.

Support in principle, but also concern about privacy

The N-VA supports the concept in principle and is voting in favour of these proposals, but still has concerns about the implementation in relation to the privacy of medical data. “It is a difficult case but the right decision,” Assita Kanko says. “This proposal will help make safe international travel possible again. Flanders is one of the most open economies in the world. We are an export region par excellence, which is already losing a lot of turnover because of Brexit. Restarting the economy and opening our borders in a controlled and safe manner are of vital importance for the health and prosperity of Flemings. In addition, our tourism sector can also use some support.”

Temporary measure that automatically phases out

There are still a few points to be worked out regarding who gets access to medical data on test results and vaccination. That will have to be resolved during further negotiations with the European Council and the European Commission. That is an additional refinement that will increase its support in society even more. In the N-VA’s opinion, only the duration of the immunity can be stated on the certificate. Privacy remains very important. “We have also pushed through in the European Parliament’s proposals that the EU COVID-19 Certificate is a one-off, temporary measure to allay fears of establishing a permanent check of European citizens. The system will automatically expire after 12 months at the latest, unless a new regulation is voted on following democratic debate in parliament.”

The European Commission hopes to introduce the certificate by the end of June. “We hope, of course, that the vaccination campaign will both control the virus and make the EU COVID-19 Certificate unnecessary,” Assita Kanko concludes.