Vaccination certificate can protect jobs

“The digital vaccination certificate for those who have already been vaccinated or tested negative, must be introduced as quickly as possible, in order to save this summer”, said Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, during a joint video summit of Chairpersons of national parliamentary groups from the EPP family and EPP Group MEPs.

The parliamentarians met today to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the creation and protection of jobs, and relations with Russia. The video summit took place ahead of the EPP Summit and the EU Summit on Thursday this week.

Last Wednesday, the European Commission proposed a single European Vaccination Certificate (Digital Green Certificate) to facilitate safe free movement inside the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic. This certificate will be proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, received a negative test result or recovered from COVID-19.

“The right path ahead of us is the vaccination rollout in combination with the digital vaccination certificate which was initially proposed by the Greek Government. It will facilitate safe and free movement within the European Union”, stated Vangelis Meimarakis MEP, Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group responsible for relations with national parliaments.

“In this way, a gradual restart of the economy will take place, enabling companies of all sizes, mainly in the fields of tourism, to stand on their own two feet again and create jobs and multiple economic benefits for the communities in which they operate. Job creation is a key priority of the EPP Group”, said Meimerakis.

“The EPP Group looks forward to a strong signal of unity from this Thursday’s EU Summit in defence of our common vaccination strategy. Citizens expect the EU to defend their interests in the pandemic, especially when it comes to exporting vaccines to countries that are not as open as we are”, concluded Manfred Weber MEP.