The European Commission (EC) wants to implement the so-called green certificates, enabling free travel across EU countries and use of services throughout the EU from June 1, the Commission informed. Today, representatives of the Member States in the e-health network agreed on the technical specifications for implementing the system at EU level.
The Commission called on the Member States to “implement the necessary technical solutions” and to accelerate the legislative work in the European Union.
“The guidelines, adopted unanimously by national experts, show the commitment and readiness of the Member States and will provide them with the specifications needed for swift implementation. On the part of the Commission, we will be ready by June 1 and Member States to join, thus we can ensure that the system is ready for We are ready to support Member States in their efforts to put in place the necessary technical infrastructure as soon as possible, “said Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.
The agreed technical specification shall include the data structure to be contained in the certificate and the encryption mechanisms, including a QR code, which will ensure that all certificates, both digital and paper, can be read and verified throughout the Union.
The portal established by the Commission will allow the use of electronic signature keys in such a way that the authenticity of green digital certificates can be verified across the EU. No personal data of certificate holders will be checked as it will not be necessary for verification, the Commission said.
The guidelines describe sample deployments of digital green certificate issuing software, certificate validation application, and a citizen wallet application template to store them.
While it will be up to the Member States to establish these systems at national level, a description of the implementation examples will help to accelerate the implementation. Descriptions of example implementations are to be available by mid-May.
In March, the Commission adopted a legislative proposal establishing a common framework for a digital green certificate.
A week ago, the European Council adopted the mandate to start negotiations with the European Parliament on this proposal. A vote on this issue is expected soon in the European Parliament. Negotiations between the institutions are to start after that.
As noted, for digital green certificates to be introduced in June, the technical implementation must run in parallel with the legislative process. The next step on the technical side is now to set up a national infrastructure, introduce national solutions for issuing, validate and store digital green certificates, and set up an EU portal.
Following the pilot phase in May, the EU portal should be operational by June for the connection of Member States. A significant number of Member States have expressed an interest in participating in the pilot scheme. The Commission will also provide technical and financial support to Member States for the use of the portal, the report also said.
Source: ISBnews and EU
