The European Commission has proposed the creation of a green digital certificate to facilitate safe free movement within the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic. That is, an accreditation of the fact that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, has recovered from COVID-19 or has undergone a test with a negative result. The aim is to ensure that EU citizens benefit from a harmonised digital tool to support the free movement of people within the Union when the percentage of the European population vaccinated against coronavirus is sufficiently high. This is the formal official message, the reading on the street is that the economic reactivation, mainly through tourism, is behind this decision which, at the very least, has begun to generate some debate due to the legal and ethical implications that are perceived.
Logically, the alert has been raised about its suitability for issues of equal rights and non-discrimination. And of course, due to the possible violation of the right to privacy and the protection of personal data that the EU has put so many times lately in the focus of its action, fortunately, on the other hand. It cannot be surprising that the club of European countries assesses the situation in economic terms and considers this passport a useful and easy-to-use tool to battle the crisis and support future recovery. However, that it does so with a certificate that bases the granting of rights, or that does not limit them to the same extent, to some people or others depending on a personal or social situation and health information, is shocking.
It has been immediately stated that it is non-discriminatory, that it is secure and that, of course, it fully respects data protection. We can give the benefit of the doubt, but it would be more responsible to demand more detailed explanations first. It will be free, in digital or paper format, and will include a QR code to guarantee the security and authenticity of the certificate. Theoretically, everyone will be able to access it. In all countries? And whoever has it will be exempt from the possible public health restrictions that each country decides.
The most surprising thing, however, is that the ball in this game is the control of particularly sensitive data. The European GDPR itself has been a bulwark in defense of the protection of this data, so it is now to be expected that there will be a clear limit to the preparation of documents for this purpose, minimizing the type of data and ensuring confidentiality mechanisms.
