Member States agree on Digital Green Certificate technical specifications

One month after the Commission’s proposal for a Digital Green Certificate, Member States representatives in the eHealth Network agreed on guidelines describing the main technical specifications for the implementation of the system. This is a crucial step for the establishment of the necessary infrastructure at EU level. In parallel Member States are encouraged to deploy the needed technical solutions at national level. It is of utmost importance to advance the work on the technical implementation, in parallel to the ongoing legislative process, to ensure a roll-out of Digital Green Certificates across the EU by June 2021.

The agreed technical specification covers data structure and encoding mechanisms, including the QR code, which will ensure that all certificates, whether digital or on paper, can be read and verified across the EU.

The guidelines also describe the EU gateway. Set up by the Commission, it will allow the sharing of electronic signature keys so that the authenticity of Digital Green Certificates can be verified across the EU. No personal data of certificate holders will pass through the gateway, as this is not necessary for the verification.