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Austria and twelve other EU states have agreed on seven criteria in the creation of a “Green Passport” for tourism. The goal is to implement the “Green Passport” quickly and as uniformly as possible at the European level, Tourism Minister Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP) told the Austrian Press Agency. “For European tourism, this is a question of survival,” Köstinger said. These seven priorities from a tourism perspective would now be sent to the EU Commission.
Köstinger agrees with colleagues on criteria for ‘green passport’
For the first time, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Austria had discussed priorities for the implementation of the “green passport” on March 29 at Köstinger’s invitation. Two weeks later, the 13 EU states agreed that the “green passport” should be implemented by June 2021 at the latest, thereby facilitating freedom of travel while the pandemic is still ongoing.
It would have to be ensured that the certificates were treated equally and that there was no discrimination. There should be no introduction of compulsory vaccination through the back door. This should be achieved by means of a secure and user-friendly technical solution, according to the list of priorities published by APA.
The national freedom of decision on additional freedoms through the “green passport”, which should be visible on a common platform, must be preserved, it continues. For example, the health data of individual citizens should not be stored in a centralized database at EU level, but only in the member state and nowhere else. The goal is also to work out a cross-border solution, including with third countries, as well as to work closely with the travel and tourism industry on the introduction of the “green passport,” it said.
“The Green Passport makes it clear at a glance whether someone has been vaccinated, recovered or tested. With a uniform QR code, this should be implemented on a European level in a simple and user-friendly way,” Köstinger explained. “From checking in at the airport or hotel, visiting the village pub or sporting event, the Green Passport can enable many facilitations,” the tourism minister said. The decision about which facilitations these are in detail is, of course, made by each member state itself, Köstinger said.
- source: APA/picture: tageskarte.io
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