VIENNA, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is campaigning for a special "green passport" for people who have been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from coronavirus in Europe.
"We need freedom of travel back within the European Union (EU)," Kurz told journalists here on Wednesday, adding that such an EU-wide document, a digital proof of immunity from COVID-19, could "provide a good basis for us to get through the summer properly."
He said that he will bring this proposal to the EU summit on Thursday and that he hopes for a European solution.
The chancellor emphasized that he had already spoken to many EU officials as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about this proposal.
Asked about the reservations of some EU countries, he said he expects to be able to dispel those "as quickly as possible."
If such a passport fails to materialize, "we will, of course, approach this project nationally and try to find a common path with as many states in the neighborhood and beyond as possible," he added.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in many European countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.
Meanwhile, 255 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 73 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Tuesday. Enditem
