Vaccines, von der Leyen: 'At least 3 months for the EU passport'

"

", said the president of the EU Commission

at the end of the EU summit by videoconference, during which a general agreement was reached on the so-called '

'. 

"We need at least three months for the technical development of a European interoperable system" for vaccination passports ", he explained in this regard. The agreement concerns the use of" a minimum set of data "in the passport" which could be useful for providing information on the alleged immunity "of citizens. Confidential information, concerning vaccination, the negativity of a test and the possible development of antibodies, must be" relevant at cross-border level ", added. The president of the EU Commission insisted on the importance of "developing a European approach" to the vaccine passport system. "If we fail to do so, bilateral initiatives" by member states "will create even more difficulties" and even large companies such as "Google and Apple are ready to offer solutions to the WHO ", but it is about sharing" confidential information, so we want to say clearly that we offer a European solution. "Brussels will continue to dialogue with

governments to "progress in this direction by March", added the EU leader, underlining that "the debate must take into account the risk of discrimination" and, at the same time, the fact that "for many EU countries tourism is extremely important since economic and social point of view ". 

"

", Austrian Chancellor

explained

.

Kurz is among the leaders contacted by the Greek premier, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to create a coalition to push the Covid passport initiative, in view of the summer.

Among the countries that are holding back, considering the discussion premature, Germany, Holland, and Belgium.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will gather government members next week to prepare the "health pass" which will not be a "vaccine passport"

, in view of the reopening of places of culture and restaurants closed during the Covid-19 pandemic .

This was announced by the head of the Elysée himself this evening after the end of the European Council.

The creation of this new instrument "will pose many technical questions, of respect for individual data, of the organization of our freedoms", said Macron, and for this "we must prepare it from now on technically, politically, legally".

"I feel - said Macron - that there is sometimes a lot of confusion on this issue" but the health pass "will not be linked only to vaccination", he stressed.

Since "if we manage to reopen some sites, we will not be able to condition their access to a vaccination, and among other things we will not have opened vaccination to the youngest".

"We must avoid - Macron said after the discussion today with the leaders of the 27 - that each country develops its own system, working on a common medical certification".