When the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) was agreed “in principle” last December, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron were rather satisfied.
Their plan was to have the deal agreed upon during Germany’s EU Council presidency and ratified no later than France’s presidency in early 2022. Both EU countries were set to reap benefits from the deal.
But things have gone downhill since then.
Following pressure from all sides, the European Commission conceded in May that efforts to win approval for the CAI had effectively been “suspended”.
Although some have been desperate to play down this setback, the truth is that in recent months Europe has started taking its China policy seriously, tit-for-tat sanctions have soured relations, and Merkel will be out of the office soon.
May 13, 2021 Share
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Wednesday the nation is prepared to roll out a digital “immunity app” to show proof of vaccination for Germans by the end of June.
Spahn told reporters the digital certificate is designed to allow people to more easily prove they have been vaccinated and travel to different areas and countries. He said all the standards, interfaces and “technical terms” for the certificate have been agreed to, and after regional testing is complete next month, he expects it to be ready for distribution.
The health minister said the goal is for the certificate to be compatible with the certification system currently being developed and debated by the European Union.
Berlin: Germany on Wednesday said people who are vaccinated, have recovered from COVID-19 or can show a recent negative test will no longer have to quarantine after arriving from a coronavirus risk area, opening up swathes of Europe for summer travel.
The new rules agreed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet cover popular holiday destinations such as Italy, Spain and Greece.
But they leave out neighbouring France, which is considered an area of “particularly high risk of infection”, meaning unvaccinated travellers would still need to quarantine upon return to Germany.
Health Minister Jens Spahn said relaxing the rules made sense because Germany generally has “a very similar infection situation” to countries classed as risk areas, and it would make travel easier for families this summer.
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