EU leaders are meeting to discuss ways to speed up the bloc's vaccine rollout, division over border closures and the introduction of vaccine travel certificates. Leaders from across the 27-nation bloc will meet via videoconference to thrash out joint approaches to the COVID-19 crisis. Deutsche Welle reports that tourist-reliant southern European nations such as Greece and Spain are urging the rapid adoption of an EU-wide certificate for travelers to show they have been vaccinated.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz backed the idea in an appearance on the online television offering from Germany's Bild newspaper. He said it would enable a restart to free travel in Europe and could help "secure and protect" struggling sectors like the arts, sports and gastronomy.
Greece has indicated it is ready to move faster than its EU peers. It has already reached a bilateral travel agreement with Israel, which has led the world with its vaccination campaign. Other countries, such as France and Germany, have shown more reluctance, with officials saying it would create de facto vaccination obligation and could prove discriminatory.
Officials and diplomats warned on Wednesday that, although they supported a verifiable vaccination record, it was too early to examine the use of vaccine passports to permit easier travel. One senior diplomat was quoted acknowledging that all EU countries were "eager" to find a safe way to reopen travel but said "we have to move this forward together."
The EU has warned six governments, including Germany, about unilateral border restrictions. The European Commission has said the recent closure or partial shutting of frontiers by several EU countries to curb the spread of virus variants is disproportionate. The EU has also written warning letters to Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary and Sweden, asking about their measures. It has given them until late next week to respond. One EU official was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying he expected "quite a lively discussion between the member states" on the issue.
