Due to the corona virus in Baden-Württemberg, traveling abroad was almost impossible for a long time. An EU law now gives hope for the summer – but that is subject to conditions.
Stuttgart / Brussels – The situation due to the corona virus in Baden Württemberg (BW24 * reported) is still very serious. In the southwest, the 7-day incidence is over 180 (as of May 2) and instead of easing the measures, the measures are being tightened. However, the vaccinations in Baden-Württemberg and Stuttgart *, which began in December 2020, are a glimmer of hope. In the southwest alone, around 2.4 million people have already received their first vaccination and around 823,000 are fully vaccinated. For those who have been completely vaccinated, there should soon be clear freedoms *. The fact that vaccinated people in the corona pandemic should receive clear advantages over citizens who have not yet been vaccinated met with clear criticism in the run-up to the vaccination summit in Brussels.
Despite the ongoing crisis due to the coronavirus in Baden-Württemberg and all of Europe, the vaccination pass, also known as the “vaccination certificate”, should allow travel within Europe again – and that without disadvantaging the non-vaccinated, as the Tagesschau reports.
Vaccination certificate: three pieces of information could make it possible to travel to Europe again
Due to the strong spread of the coronavirus in Baden-Württemberg * and around the world, travel to other countries has been severely restricted for over a year. However, the digital vaccination certificate should make it possible to travel to popular excursion destinations such as Italy or Spain again from June. The federal government has already announced the point in time when domestic travel should be possible again *. On April 28, the European Parliament voted unanimously for the introduction of the digital vaccination certificate, as reported by the Tagesschau. The certificate, also known as the “green EU passport”, is intended to allow those who have been vaccinated, recovered and those who have tested negative, a partial exemption from the measures.
According to the decision of the European Parliament, the vaccination certificate should be made available both digitally and in paper form. The vaccinations, survived Covid diseases and current test results are noted in it. Accordingly, people with a negative test result who have not yet been vaccinated completely or not at all can also benefit from the regulation.
The call for free corona tests to implement this strategy, however, met with criticism, according to the Tagesschau. EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders had already rejected the cross-party demand in plenary last Wednesday. Corona tests should be affordable, but the question of reimbursement of costs lies with the individual member states. The negotiations with the European states could now become a particular hurdle.
Draft law significantly changed: negotiations difficult – federal government undecided
At the vaccination summit in Brussels, the previously submitted draft law for the Europe-wide vaccination certificate was significantly changed, as reported by the Tagesschau. This could lead to significant difficulties in negotiations with the member states. The European Parliament demands that vaccinated or negatively tested persons no longer have to comply with the quarantine or test obligation when crossing the border within Europe. However, several member states opposed this demand and rejected vaccinations with active substances without EU approval as evidence of exemption from applicable measures. Whether citizens in the southwest who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in Baden-Württemberg or who have a negative test will be able to travel across Europe again from June depends on the final decision.
The European Parliament in Brussels has defined its position for the upcoming negotiations with the EU member states with regard to the vaccination certificate. The certificate and a Europe-wide agreement are an important step towards free and safe travel this summer, wrote Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Twitter. However, the federal government has not yet made a final decision. * BW24 is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Heading image: © Alessandra Tarantino
