Digital Green Certificate: blockchain solutions and vaccine inequity

26.4.2021

Question for written answer  E-002233/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó (NI)

On 17 March 2021, the Commission unveiled its proposal for a regulation on a framework for the issuance, verification and acceptance of interoperable certificates on vaccination, testing and recovery to facilitate free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic (Digital Green Certificate).

• 1.Has the Commission considered any means to sanction Member States that are currently banning local governments from implementing blockchain solutions as defined by the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure?
• 2.Does it intend to use the technological platform that will support the Digital Green Certificate app as a foundation for new EU-wide apps?
• 3.The COVID-19 crisis is rapidly worsening due to widening income inequity and vaccine inequity in terms of who is able to access vaccines. This widespread vaccine inequity effectively means that citizens from high-income countries will be able to resume travelling for global health work, whereas those from low and middle-income countries will not. How will the Commission advocate for vaccine passport equity, or even against the use of vaccine passports that would discriminate against trainees and professionals in the Global South?