EU to Discontinue Joint COVID Certificate from 1st July
The validity of the EU Digital COVID Certificate Regulation comes to an end on 30th June 2023. From this date, the certificate will no longer be used jointly by EU member states, as stated by the Finnish government.
However, people can still acquire the EU Digital COVID Certificate online through the MyKanta service, if needed.
While the certificate is currently not required for travel, it may be needed for certain destinations. Travellers should verify the COVID-19 restrictions and requirements of their destination country beforehand. Finland does not demand COVID-19 certificates.
The implementation of the EU Digital COVID Certificate has led to a digital network for production and verification of COVID-19 certificates across 80 countries, including non-EU countries that joined the network.
The network established through the EU Digital COVID Certificate project will continue to be used in the future. For instance, the EU and WHO have partnered digitally to prepare for future pandemics.
The EU has recommended that the WHO adopt the EU Digital COVID Certificate system and manage it. Finland will join the WHO certification system and partake in the pilot phase before the system transition. The pilot will test the compatibility of the EU certification system with the future system supported by WHO.
The system transition or pilot phase will not impact citizens' daily lives. It is a technical change seen as particularly beneficial not only for COVID-19 certificates but also for future purposes. Participation in the pilot phase will also make it possible for the EU Digital COVID Certificate to be available on MyKanta in the future.
The certification system transition will not affect personal health data, such as vaccination information and laboratory test results. People's health data will remain on MyKanta.
The transition or pilot phase of the certification system will not lead to new COVID-19 restrictions and does not foresee preparation for any new restrictions.
It is worth recalling that last year, new rules regarding the use of digital COVID certificates came into effect in EU countries, including setting an expiry date for the document. They related solely to the use of EU Digital COVID Certificates for organising travel.
As of today, Europe has 250,285,092 confirmed infections, 246,462,396 recoveries, and 1,756,370 active cases."