By Tom Phillips[1] • • nfcw.com[2]
The European Union’s proposed digital Covid certificate that will enable EU residents to confirm that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, received a negative test result or recovered from the illness is “well on track to be ready by the end of June”, according to the European Commission.
The EC’s proposal to introduce the EU Digital Covid Certificate — previously known as the Digital Green Certificate[3] — has now been agreed by the European Parliament and European Council and will be debated before formal adoption in early June.
According to the proposal, the EU Digital Covid Certificate will “cover vaccination, test and recovery”, be available free of charge in a digital or paper-based format, and include a QR code “that contains essential information, as well as a digital seal to make sure the certificate is authentic”.
The EC also confirmed that the EU Gateway system enabling the EU-wide authentication of the Digital Covid Certificate using electronic signature keys is ready to go live in June after “successful pilot tests took place with 17 Member States and Iceland”.
“The political agreement will now have to be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council,” the EC explains.
“The regulation will enter into force on 1 July, with a phasing-in period of six weeks for the issuance of certificates for those Member States that need additional time.
“In parallel, the Commission will continue to support the Member States in finalising their national solutions for the issuance and verification of EU Digital Covid Certificates, and to provide technical and financial support to Member States to on-board the gateway.”
