2 Feb 2022 11:49

Russian Digital Development Ministry applies for joining EU mechanism of Covid-19 certificates' verification

MOSCOW. Feb 2 (Interfax) - The Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media has applied for joining the EU mechanism for verification of Covid-19 vaccination certificates, the ministry press service told Interfax on Wednesday.

"The ministry is in talks with European colleagues. We filed for joining the mechanism of verification and check of certificates with a QR code in January 2022. The application was drafted consistent with the EU requirements. There has been no decision on its processing," the ministry said.

Russian and European platforms could be integrated for mutual access to Covid-19 certificates, the ministry said. In case of the successful connection to the EU infrastructure, the ministry is planning to provide European-standard certificates in addition to Russian certificates at the request of citizens.

The ministry explained technical difficulty of the mutual recognition of Covid-19 certificates issued in Russia and the EU with the need to sign the document by EU standards and to fill it with EU reference data.

A number of informed sources told Interfax in mid-December 2021 that Russia-EU talks on the mutual recognition of Covid-19 certificates were faltering over differences about the mechanism of verification of digital documents.

The sources told Interfax that the Russian QR code gives a link to the Gosuslugi public services website, while the European green pass contains direct information about vaccination or earlier infection.