EU coronavirus summit: Vaccine certificates expected by summer

EU coronavirus summit: Vaccine certificates expected by summer

Leaders from the European Union's (EU) 27-member states came to together for a virtual summit on Thursday with the aim of solving pressing coronavirus-related health and logistical problems confronting the bloc.

Member state politicians used the meeting to discuss approaches to speeding up the delivery of vaccines, the implementation and use of vaccine passports and the potential for conflict arising from national border closings.

Perhaps the most important short-term announcement to emerge from the meeting was that of "convergence“ around the concept of a vaccine passport.

Speaking at a press conference alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel said Europeans and their leaders "need to face the truth“ about the difficulty of the task at hand but said hope was on the horizon.

Commission President von der Leyen, too, stressed progress made so far, noting that 8 percent of the bloc's adult population had already been vaccinated.

Vaccine certificates within three months

One of the more contentious issues EU leaders tackled was that of digital vaccine passports for those who have been vaccinated. Southern EU states such as Greece, Spain and Italy “” all heavily or entirely dependent on tourism “” believe such a scheme could ease air travel, helping them avoid a repeat of last year's