BERLIN — The German newspaper "Bild" on Wednesday devoted a top slot on its front page to the Greek prime minister's proposal for a vaccination certificate valid throughout the European Union, as a means to facilitate travel. With a photo of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, it hailed the idea of free travel with vaccination as an "impressive plan in the EU", and said the new vaccination certificate will act as a "new passport".

The article outlines the details of the Greek proposal and notes that Mitsotakis' letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which contains a 'blueprint' for the certificate, arrived nine days before the planned European Council on the novel coronavirus, where it will be discussed.

It also cites the Greek prime minister's suggestion that those vaccinated should be permitted to travel freely and that this will also be an incentive for people to get vaccinated and thus ensure a return to normality, pointing out that a discussion on whether vaccination should allow people to live a "normal life" began in Germany in December and has even been referred to the council on ethics, which advises the federal government.

The paper also notes the Greek premier's comment, in the letter, that the next two months will be crucial in ensuring the mass vaccination of EU citizens and lowering the number of cases, thus laying the foundations for a return to some level of economic and social normality in 2021.

It notes that, while vaccination will remain voluntary and not a condition for travel, the certificate will greatly facilitate this and also pointed to cases where airlines have made vaccination against Covid-19 a condition for boarding, such as Qantas on its intercontinental flights starting on July 1.