On Monday, Spain's tourism minister Reyes Maroto took part in a meeting of EU tourism ministers and urged the European Commission to accelerate the development of vaccination certification. In this regard, Spain combined with Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Malta and Slovakia in presenting a joint statement pressing for a form of vaccine passport that can speed up the restart of safe travel.
Maroto called for there to be common protocols that will prevent prohibition of travel within the internal market and also with third countries, especially the UK. Coordination, she said, is "essential for guaranteeing the gradual recovery of tourism".
Describing a certificate as "an effective tool to resume mobility in a safe way", the minister stressed the need to redouble efforts to ensure better coordination and so prevent discriminatory measures while also regaining the confidence of travellers. "It is important to have the tools in place to start mobility as soon as the virus incidence data allow this."
She emphasised that the priority must be the acceleration of the vaccination programme, but at the same time the Commission must have a coordinated system that will enable free movement. This will be key to "relaunching the travel and tourism sectors".