Good News, European Union Digital COVID-19 Certificate Will Be Available To International Tourists, Free!

JAKARTA - Good news comes from the European Union (EU). The Blue Continent block plans to open an EU digital COVID-19 certificate for travel, which can be used for non-EU international travelers, including the United States.

This disclosure is conditional on each EU member state's acceptance of proof of vaccination, negative test results, or recovery from COVID-19 infection, an EU spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday, June 2 local time.

"Currently if you are an American, not living in the European Union, you can get a certificate if you ask the national authority of a member state to provide you with that certificate-based on some evidence that you have been vaccinated, or had a recent Covid test," he said. spokesperson familiar with the policy.

However, he underlined, such a decision will be in the hands of each EU member state.

The spokesman also said the EU Commission is in talks with the United States on a United States COVID-19 certificate that EU countries can accept as equivalent.

Last Tuesday, the EU Commission announced in a press release that seven European countries consisting of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia, and Poland began issuing digital EU COVID-19 certificates for travel within the block.

The system will be fully enforced from July 1, but member states can now start using it voluntarily, the Commission said.

The certificate was proposed in March by the bloc, to continue safe international travel within the EU during this summer.

"It will be free, safe, and accessible to everyone. Available in digital format or on paper, it will be evidence that a person has received the COVID-19 vaccine, tested negative, or recovered from infection," the EU Commission said Tuesday.

"It is important over the coming weeks that all member states fully finalize their national systems for issuing, storing, and verifying certificates, so that the systems function in time for the holiday season," EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in a press release.

"EU citizens are looking forward to traveling again, and they want to do so safely. Having an EU certificate is an important step in the journey," he concluded.