The government on Thursday decided to set up a task force for the technical solution for cross-border interoperable digital green certificates, the so-called COVID-19 passports, which should facilitate the movement of people in the EU during the coronavirus pandemic.

The task force, which has 16 members, is chaired by Minister of the Interior Davor Bozinovic, with Health Minister Vili Beros serving as deputy.

The Interior Minister has been entrusted with signing a contract with the AKD specialised manufacturer of documents and high-security print products to make the technical solution and together with the Health Ministry it will absorb the necessary funds through the EU instrument for emergency aid, Bozinovic said.

The European Commission in mid-March proposed introducing a digital green certificate to facilitate safe free movement within the EU during the coronavirus pandemic.

The co-called COVID-19 passport will be proof that its holder has been vaccinated against COVID-19, has tested negative for coronavirus or has recovered from the disease.

The certificate will contain a QR code to guarantee its security and credibility and it will be available free of charge in digital or paper form. It will contain the basic information: name and surname, date of birth, date of issue, date of vaccination, number of doses received, type of test, date and time of testing, test location and test result, and for persons who have recovered from COVID-19 it will contain the date of the positive test result, name of the party who issued the certificate, date of issue and validity.

EU countries will be responsible for deciding which of the public-health restrictions for passengers can be revoked, and those rules will have to be applied equally to holders of digital green certificates. The EC will establish a gateway to make sure all certificates can be checked across the EU and for technical support for member-states.

In late March members of the European Parliament decided to expedite the process of approval of green digital certificates so that they could be adopted by summer.

Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac said that Croatia was open to tourists and that hotels and camping sites were open. As of 1 April, clear criteria have been in force regarding entry into Croatia.

A team has been set up including representatives of foreign embassies and representatives of Croatian Tourist Board offices in tourism-generating markets to provide foreign visitors with information on conditions of return to the home country, Brnjac said.

She noted that around 69,000 tourism workers had expressed interest in vaccination, which she described as a very high rate.

Seasonal workers will be discussed subsequently, the primary concern now is the vaccination of tourism workers, she said.