The EU wants to end all quarantine restrictions for citizens who have received both doses of the Covid vaccine by July 1.
The Covid Digital Certificate policy would allow vaccinated travellers to be exempt from strict isolation rules or expensive testing within the bloc in a bid to kickstart the summer holiday season.
The call for exemptions for fully vaccinated travellers has been made ahead of the launch of the EU digital Covid certificate today (Tuesday).
It is set to offer proof of recovery from Covid-19, vaccination or a negative test and is earmarked to be introduced by the beginning of next month.
The EU will also consider other nations, including the UK, being invited to take part in the scheme.
However, some nations may still impose restrictions on UK arrivals because of fears over the spread of the Indian variant of the virus.
Some countries could also decide to lift quarantine and testing restrictions for people who have received just one dose of the vaccine, according to European justice commissioner Didier Reynders.
He said: “The last weeks have brought a continuous downward trend in infection numbers, showing the success of the vaccination campaigns across the EU.
“In parallel, we are also encouraging affordable and widely available testing possibilities. In this context, member states are now slowly lifting Covid-19 restrictions both domestically and regarding travel.”
Restrictions could be re-imposed by individual governments if infection figures worsen or a new variant provides concern, but the system has been designed to harmonise rules among EU nations.
EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides added: “As vaccination is progressing with increasing speed, we can be confident that safe free movement without restrictions can gradually resume again.”
