EU Covid certificate: the global standard?

Are we getting closer to rebuilding global travel? The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has recently urged countries to make the EU Digital COVID Certificate (the DCC) their global standard for digital vaccine certificates. 27 EU member states are using it, and a further 60 other countries are looking to use the DCC specification in their own certification.

IATA has recently commended the European Commission for its leadership and speed in delivering the EU Digital COVID Certificate.

The DCC was delivered in record time to help facilitate the reopening of EU states to travel. In the absence of a single global standard for digital vaccine certificates, IATA is now recommending it should serve as a blueprint for other nations looking to implement digital vaccination certificates to help facilitate travel and its associated economic benefits.

The EU DCC meets several key criteria that have been identified as important if a digital vaccination certificate is to be effective:

• Format: flexibility to be used in both paper and digital format
• QR code: The DCC QR code can be included in both digital and paper format. It contains essential information as well as a digital signature to make sure the certificate is authentic.
• Verification and authentication:  The European Commission has built a gateway through which the encrypted data used to sign DCCs and required to authenticate certificate signatures can be distributed across the EU. The gateway can be also used to distribute encrypted data of non-EU certificate issuers to other issuers. The EU has also developed a specification for machine readable Validation Rules for cross-country travel.

The EU DCC is implemented in the 27 EU Member states and a number of reciprocal agreements have been agreed with other states’ own vaccination certificates, including Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine.

In the absence of a single global standard for digital vaccination certificates, up to 60 other countries are looking to use the DCC specification for their own certification. The DCC is consistent with the latest World Health Organisation Guidance and is fully supported by the IATA Travel Pass.