Regulation (EU) 2022/1034 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 June 2022 amending Regulation (EU) 2021/953 on a framework for the issuance, verification and acceptance of interoperable COVID-19 vaccination, test and recovery certificates (EU Digital COVID Certificate) to facilitate free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic (Text with EEA relevance)

‘11 Where necessary, the Commission shall ask the Health Security Committee, the ECDC or EMA to issue guidance on the available scientific evidence on the effects of medical events documented in the certificates referred to in paragraph 1, in particular with regard to new SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, and on the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines undergoing clinical trials in the Member States.’;

‘2 The trust framework shall be based on a public key infrastructure and allow for the reliable and secure issuance and verification of the authenticity, validity and integrity of the certificates referred to in Article 3(1). The trust framework shall allow for the detection of fraud, in particular forgery. In addition, it shall enable the exchange of certificate revocation lists containing the unique certificate identifiers of revoked certificates. Such certificate revocation lists shall not contain any other personal data. The verification of the certificates referred to in Article 3(1) and, where applicable, certificate revocation lists shall not give rise to the issuer being notified of the verification.’;

‘1 Each Member State shall issue, upon request, certificates of recovery referred to in point (c) of Article 3(1) following a positive result of a NAAT test carried out by health professionals or by skilled testing personnel. Member States may also issue, upon request, certificates of recovery referred to in point (c) of Article 3(1) following a positive result of an antigen test listed in the EU common list of COVID-19 antigen tests agreed by the Health Security Committee carried out by health professionals or by skilled testing personnel. Member States may issue certificates of recovery based on antigen tests carried out by health professionals or by skilled testing personnel on or after 1 October 2021, provided that the antigen test used was included in the EU common list of COVID-19 antigen tests agreed by the Health Security Committee on the date on which the positive test result was produced. Certificates of recovery shall be issued at the earliest 11 days after the date on which a person was first subject to a NAAT test or antigen test that produced a positive result. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 12 to amend the number of days after which a certificate of recovery is to be issued, on the basis of guidance received from the Health Security Committee in accordance with Article 3(11) or on scientific evidence reviewed by the ECDC.’;

‘4 On the basis of guidance received pursuant to Article 3(11), the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 12 to amend paragraph 1 of this Article and point (c) of Article 3(1) to allow for the issuance of the certificate of recovery on the basis of a positive antigen test, antibody test, including a serological test for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, or any other scientifically validated method. Such delegated acts shall also amend point 3 of the Annex by adding, modifying or removing the data fields falling under the categories of personal data referred to in points (b) and (c) of paragraph 2 of this Article.’;

‘5 No certificate revocation lists that have been exchanged pursuant to Article 4(2) shall be retained after the end of the period of application of this Regulation.’;

1 Without prejudice to Member States’ competence to impose restrictions to free movement on grounds of public health, where Member States accept vaccination certificates, test certificates indicating a negative result or certificates of recovery, they shall refrain from imposing additional restrictions to free movement, unless such restrictions are non-discriminatory, and necessary and proportionate for the purpose of safeguarding public health based on the latest available scientific evidence, including epidemiological data published by the ECDC on the basis of Council Recommendation (EU) 2022/107 , and in line with the precautionary principle.

2 Where a Member State imposes, in accordance with Union law, including the principles set out in paragraph 1 of this Article, additional restrictions on holders of the certificates referred to in Article 3(1), in particular as a result of a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern or interest, it shall inform the Commission and the other Member States accordingly, if possible 48 hours in advance of the introduction of such new restrictions. To that end, the Member State shall provide the following information: (a) the reasons for such restrictions, including all relevant epidemiological data and scientific evidence supporting those restrictions that are available and accessible at that stage; (b) the scope of such restrictions, specifying which certificate holders are subject to or exempt from such restrictions; (c) the date and duration of such restrictions.

2a Where a Member State imposes restrictions in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2, it shall pay particular attention to the likely impact of such restrictions on cross-border regions and to the specificities of outermost regions, exclaves and geographically isolated areas.

3 Member States shall inform the Commission and the other Member States of the issuance and the conditions of acceptance of the certificates referred to in Article 3(1), including the COVID-19 vaccines they accept pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 5(5).

4 Member States shall provide the public with clear, comprehensive and timely information with regard to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3. As a general rule, Member States shall make that information publicly available 24 hours before new restrictions come into effect, taking into account that some flexibility is required for epidemiological emergencies. In addition, the information provided by the Member States may be made publicly available by the Commission in a centralised manner.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.