The Members of the European Parliament have decided to speed up the process of the Digital Green Certificate, often referred to as vaccine passports, approval in order to enable their issuance in time for summer 2021 and at the same time to allow safe and unrestricted movement during the pandemic.

The MEPs supported activating the emergency procedure (Rule 163), which would allow faster parliamentary observation and examination of the Commission’s proposal while respecting its democratic privileges, with 468 votes in favor, 203 votes against, and 16 abstentions, StudyinPoland.Info reports.

In a press release, the European Parliament revealed that in a debate held on March 25-26, MEPs emphasized the need to ensure an adequate number of vaccines across the European Union countries through a standardized approach. Some of the members displayed their concern regarding the EU’s reliability due to vaccine distributions’ mismanagement.

Several of the summit speakers referred to the delays in delivering the AstraZeneca vaccines after finding almost 30 million doses in an Italian factory, the destination of which remains unknown while calling for legal actions to be taken against the manufacturer.

Others advised against export bans due to the reprisal measures that could cause further delays and discrimination against the poorer countries that have not started vaccinating their citizens yet.

The press release further mentioned that the MEPs commented on the Digital Green Certificate suggested by the Commission by expressing that the certificate would help the free movement within the EU countries and provide support to the revival of the travel and tourism sector.

Nevertheless, some of the MEPs expressed their concern regarding the non-vaccinated individuals saying that they can face discrimination and pointed out the need to provide the highest data protection standards.

Commenting on the certificates, the Chair of the Civil Liberties Committee Juan Fernando López Aguilar, said that the EU needs the Digital Green Certificate in order to restore the tourism in the Schengen Area and fight the Coronavirus pandemic.

“The certificate cannot be a precondition for free movement as this is a fundamental right in the European Union, and it cannot lead to discrimination against those individuals who do not hold one. Citizens’ data must be safe, and only necessary data should be included in the certificate,” Chair Aguilar said.

Regarding the upcoming steps, the press release conveyed that during the next plenary session, the MEPs will adopt its directive for dialogues with the Council that may constitute the Commission’s proposed amendments.

Previously, the President of the European Union Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, revealed the Commission’s plans for establishing a green pass for all persons who are COVID-19 free, with the purpose of restoring travel within Europe. According to her, the Digital Green Pass would include information on whether the holder has been vaccinated or recovered from the virus recently, and if not, the results of a negative COVID-19 test.