France is “reluctant” to set up a Community vaccination passport, believing that the issue should not be on the menu of the European Council next week, according to its Secretary of State for European Affairs.
“We are very reluctant,” Clément Beaune said on France Info radio on Sunday. “If we are talking about a piece of paper, a document that authorizes you to travel to Europe, I believe that it is very premature,” he added.
“It is a debate that does not need to be and it would be shocking, while this vaccination campaign is still beginning everywhere in Europe, for there to be more important rights for some than for others. . This is not our conception of protection and access to vaccines ”.
The head of the Greek government called on the European Union on Tuesday to adopt a “standardized” vaccination certificate to give a boost to the tourism industry, devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.
An idea to which the European Commission is favorable, according to its president, Ursula von der Leyen, speaking of a “medical imperative”, unlike the World Health Organization (WHO), which declared itself there. opposite “for the moment” on a planetary scale.
“It is an idea (…) on which France considers that we should not open the debate now. When access to the vaccine is generalized, it will be a different subject, ”Clément Beaune insisted.
The minister also mentioned the situation of frontier workers – 350,000 French according to him. “We plan to strengthen control measures within the European area”, he said, assuring that there would be no closure of the borders of the Schengen area.
“We also check the type of tests that we may require,” he added. “We are considering a list of antigenic tests that would be recognized throughout Europe. Today this is not yet the case ”.