Greece is ready to use a COVID-19 travel certificate before its EU-wide launch on July 1 to attract foreign travellers and save its tourism sector from a second summer lost to the coronavirus, according to Reuters.
The European Council and parliament last week reached a deal on the digital green certificate following a rapid pick-up of vaccinations allowing the widespread lifting of coronavirus curbs.
The European Parliament is expected to pass a law in the week of June 7 and more than a dozen EU countries, including France and Spain, have agreed to test the system before the launch on July 1.
„It is very, very simple. Essentially, it includes all the information that a member-state would need to welcome a traveller without imposing additional restrictions,” said Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis at a presentation of the pass on Friday.
Mitsotakis urged EU countries to ensure they stick to the deadlines and facilitate travel over the summer.
The free certificate will take the form of a QR code on a smartphone or paper, letting authorities determine the status of a visitor based on records in their home EU country.