The European Commission is cautious with some of the European Union Member States’ initiative to launch a vaccination certificate that would bring many facilities for persons who have taken the vaccine against the Coronavirus pandemic, according to an EU source.

Based on EU source’ comments, such vaccination documents would cause difficulties, as at the end of the day “we are all in the common Schengen Zone”, StudyinPoland.Info reports.

Earlier this month, Greece and Israel reached an agreement that permits vaccinated travelers of both countries to enter each other’s territory without additional requirements such as testing or quarantine rules.

But the decision caused polemics in the European Union, as according to EU authorities, Greece should be aware that as it is part of the Schengen Zone, every person who enters Greece is able to move freely through all the borderless areas.

In this regard, the EU source said that “we cannot have Israeli and British tourists granted with benefits while citizens of the Schengen area are excluded,” despite the fact that currently travel to non-EU countries is mostly banned.

The EU source also said that this issue is causing debate among the countries, but “in no way such a measure should cause discrimination.”

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was among the first persons to call on the EU governments’ to launch the vaccination passport. He even addressed a letter to the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen, urging the EC to support the plan.

Leaders of the European Union’s 27 countries met online on Thursday (25 February) to discuss Greece’s proposal to launch such a certificate. However,  they didn’t found a unanimous response in this regard.

European countries have different opinions regarding the vaccination document that would facilitate the travel within the continent amid the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak.

As yet,  Denmark, Czechia Cyprus, Greece, Iceland, Estonia, Italy, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Poland, and Sweden, welcomed the idea, including the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

However, Germany, France, and Romania do not consider the plan as an effective one. According to these countries, Europe cannot have a certificate for travel purposes until all European Union citizens have equal access to vaccines.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel doubts that the vaccine document could bring any facilities. 

“First, it must be clearly resolved that vaccinated people are no longer infectious,” she pointed out.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron said a balance must be found while, according to him, there are still ethical questions to be resolved.

The World Health Organization Committee previously opposed the idea of vaccination certificates, as according to the Committee, the vaccine’s effect on minimizing transmission is still unknown.