The EU examines the opportunity, passports those who receive vaccine and travel

This has been confirmed at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, although there are legal challenges to this idea.

According to this idea, all individuals who were to be vaccinated against COVID-19, which causes the new coronavirus, would receive a certificate with which they would testify, and this would enable unhindered travel. According to European Commission experts, this would be something similar to certificates for testing required today by some states to enter their territory.

Initially, Greece's prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, had mentioned this idea in a letter he had sent to the European Commission and other EU leaders.

Portugal's Prime Minister Antonia Costa, whose country is leading the EU presidency, has also voiced support for this. For countries like Portugal and Greece, whose economies depend heavily on tourism, travel is extremely important to ensure a relatively successful tourist season this year.

The idea for “CO VID-19 passports” also supported the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leenen, but later by the European Commission have clarified that it has done so “in its private quality from its experience as former health worker”.

European Union leaders will discuss this idea at a virtual summit, to be held Thursday on January 21st. But, as European Council President Charles Michel put it, “this will create a great frustration if it starts to apply too early”, as according to him, no one knows when any citizens who want to be vaccinated will be vaccinated. But he has confirmed that this idea will be discussed at the summit he will lead.

If a debate is complicated, it doesn't mean it shouldn't be debated at all. We need to consider whether we agree that there will be certificates of vaccination and, if so, when they are going to be appropriate, Michel said that he talked about Dutch television.

EU member states are facing a deadlock in the initial vaccine process, because there are not enough vaccines in the market yet. Hence, even many experts have warned that states cannot discriminate against those who are not vaccinated if at the same time they are not provided with the possibility of vaccination.

The idea also touches on the issue of human rights. Basically, in EU member states, vaculation is not mandatory. If the evidence for the vaccine is required as “consecutively to travel”, then in a way the vaccine becomes as if it is mandatory to exercise the right to freedom of movement.

Also mentioned is the possibility that foreign citizens will be vaccinated as a condition for entry into EU territory. Such a thing would be easier than for EU citizens, but it also takes time after outside the EU, the vaccine campaign is even slower.

The idea for “CO VID-19 passports” is also highly questioned by the epidemiological aspect because there is still no evidence that vaccinators, who may have immunity, do not spread the virus to others.

All these principles will take into account EU heads of state and government during their discussion Thursday, when they will also discuss the need to speed up the citizens' vaccine campaign against COVID-19.