M. VARVITSIOTIS: European vaccination – European certificate
Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis presented the Prime Minister’s proposal for establishment of a common European vaccination certificate during the informal meeting of the EU General Affairs Council, which convened via videoconference ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the European Council on the response to the pandemic.
“If there is common European vaccination, there should be a common European certificate,” Mr. Varvitsiotis underscored, briefing his colleagues on Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ proposal. “Coordination early in this stage – in other words, providing people will a common certificate that can be used in the future – is something we should do now. It’s better for us to act preventively that after the fact,” he stressed.
The Alternate Minister also pointed to the need to step up the provision of vaccines, highlighting at the same time that “we must not rely solely on vaccines, but also on accelerating the pace of coordination so that we can find the best way to treat people, with a Covid-19 drug.” Mr. Varvitsiotis also raised the issue of providing vaccines to the countries of the Western Balkans. “It is very important that we should share the EU’s successes with our friends and neighbours, and especially with those countries that have expressed their intention of joining us in the future,” he stressed.
Regarding the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe, the Alternate Minister asked that it move ahead as quickly as possible, with the inclusion of representatives from the EU’s three institutional bodies (Parliament, Commission, Council) in the organizational structure. At the same time, he made it clear that “it is important for us to reconnect with our citizens in the midst of the economic and public health crisis,” as the priority is “to underscore the importance of citizens and the message on a social Europe, so that no one is left behind.”
January 18, 2021