Editorial | Malta must accept COVID certificates

The unveiling of the electronic COVID-19 vaccine certificate by the Maltese authorities earlier this week was an important step in the recovery process.

The vaccine certificate will enable certain social events to recommence because it makes controls easier to implement.

It provides hope that life can start having a semblance of normality, even if vigilance and personal hygiene must remain top priorities.

The vaccine certificate also makes it possible for Maltese who opt to travel abroad for their holidays to return back to Malta with no hassle.

However, the utilisation of vaccine certificates for international travel remains erratic at best.

Although the EU has agreed on a common digital certificate to ease travel between member states, the system is slated to become operational on 1 July.

Some member states like Germany, Greece, Croatia and Malta have launched their national systems.

But unlike some of these countries, Malta is so far not accepting certificates from other States. This decision is baffling, more so when tourism competitor countries like Greece and Croatia have said they will recognise vaccine certificates issued by other States.

Croatia has even reached a bilateral agreement with Hungary to recognise certificates from that country despite having also used the Russian Sputnik vaccine, which has not received approval from the European Medicines Authority.

While Malta should stick to certificates related to vaccines approved by the European Medicines Authority, it risk falling behind its competitors by not recognising foreign vaccine certificates.

At this point in time, only persons with a Maltese vaccine certificate – for which read Maltese and residents of Malta – can exempt themselves of the requirement to get a negative PCR test for entry into Malta.

This is a setback for tourism since it requires visitors to have a negative COVID test prior to boarding even if they are fully vaccinated. It is an added inconvenience and possibly an expense that some other competing destinations are doing without when accepting foreign certificates.

The government has said it is in the process of negotiating bilateral agreements with several countries for the mutual recognition of vaccine certificates pending the EU system coming into force.

No such agreement has been announced so far. These agreements have to be concluded as soon as possible, especially with EU member states that are also issuing electronic vaccine certificates. Malta cannot risk falling behind in a cutthroat recovery.

Malta needs tourism to restart and to do so it is necessary to make cross-border travel easier, while ensuring that all safety precautions are maintained.

This is not a call to abandon the cautionary approach that the health authorities have adopted over the past few months to bring the pandemic under control.

But if people have willingly accepted to take the vaccine because it provides hope that normalcy could soon return, it makes little sense to ignore inoculations as part of an opening strategy to reboot ailing economies.

Malta depends on tourism and while it should continue adopting a cautious approach, it cannot simply shut out vaccine certificates as a useful tool to make it easier for travellers to reach the islands.