Lavrov Expects EU’s Plans for Vaccine Passports Won’t Discriminate Against Russians

Moscow expects that the European Union’s plans to introduce coronavirus vaccine passports won’t discriminate against Russian nationals, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Tuesday, TASS reported.

“At our level, we informed our colleagues in the European Union that we expected them to make decisions that will not discriminate against Russian nationals,” he pointed out.

The European Commission will present a proposal in March on creating an EU-wide digital vaccination passport, an issue that has divided member states, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday, France24 informed.

“We will submit a legislative proposal in March,” von der Leyen told German conservative lawmakers during a video conference on Monday.

With vaccinations now well under way, governments are increasingly seeing vaccine “passports” – or other forms of Covid-19 status certificates – as a way out of the cycles of shutdowns and curfews that have ground travel to a near halt.

The certificates would enable people to present proof of vaccination and thus skip quarantine protocols when arriving in a new country.

Greece unveiled a digital vaccination certificate in February for those who have received two doses of the vaccine.

Other countries that are currently issuing or asking for vaccine certificates include the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, Spain and Portugal.