German Finance Minister: EU Vaccination Passport Could Be an Instrument
12 March 2021
By David Barwick – Frankfurt (Econostream) – German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz on Friday suggested that a vaccination passport could be the way forward in terms of making travel possible again.In an interview with Greek newspaper Ta Nea, Scholz, according to a text made available by the Finance Ministry, said that Germany must now ‘closely observe how the infection incidence develops, especially with regard to the mutations.’
‘I would be very happy if summer holidays were possible again this year’, he said. ‘An EU vaccination passport could be an instrument. We are now waiting for the Commission's proposals, which are due shortly.’
Scholz, who is his party’s candidate for Germany’s chancellorship in the September 26 elections, noted that the persistence of the pandemic meant the German government would ‘probably introduce a supplementary budget in the next few weeks to reflect the additional costs.’
He reiterated his insistence on keeping the level of investment high despite budgetary constraints, as ‘otherwise we will gamble away the future opportunities of our country.’
‘For me as Federal Finance Minister, one thing is clear: I reject cuts in the social security systems and will continue to keep investments at record levels to ensure future growth and employment’, he said.