The Commission has today proposed a “Digital Green Certificate for a “safe and sustained re-opening”. It comes with other proposals presented by the European Commission today which, without downplaying the seriousness of the current epidemiological situation, already looks to the future. Indeed, ahead of the meeting of the Heads of State and Government on 25 and 26 March, it calls on Member States to “prepare for a coordinated approach to a gradual lifting of COVID-19 restrictions when the epidemiological situation will allow”. In a Communication adopted today, the Commission chaired by Ursula von der Leyen charts the way ahead “for a balanced policy and common EU approach”, pointing to “what we need to do to advance the time when we can recover our European way of life, and do so in a safe and sustainable way with control over the virus”. The Commission’s proposals were outlined at a press conference in Brussels and in a number of written documents and various press releases. “While the epidemiological situation requires continued control until a sufficient vaccination coverage is achieved, the conditions must be created across the Single Market to allow for safe and sustained re-opening, so that citizens can enjoy their rights and economic and social activity can resume”. This includes “the deployment of a Digital Green Certificate covering vaccination, testing and recovery; the use of a common framework for response measures; guidance on additional testing strategies, such as wastewater monitoring to track variants; investment in diagnostics and treatments”.