Successful testing of the European digital certificate
Romania has successfully tested the connection to the European system for issuing and managing digital travel certificates in the context of the coronavirus pandemic
Eugen Coroianu, 27.05.2021, 13:50
Romania successfully tested, on Wednesday, the European interconnection system for digital travel certificates, which will facilitate free movement within the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic. The operation was carried out by the Special Telecommunications Service (STS) together with the technical working group at European level. The IT system under development at STS facilitates the generation of EU digital COVID certificates, the transmission of security features that allow verification, centralization at European level and validation of QR codes by other Member States.
The testing was carried out jointly with Latvia and targeted the countries’ public keys, necessary for the verification of digital signatures. The STS informs that the certificates contain essential identification data such as – name and surname, date of birth, issuing Member State, medical data concerning the category for which the document is issued, as well as a unique identifier thereof. After the implementation of the IT system in Romania, the data to be included in the certificates will be taken automatically from the National Electronic Vaccination Register for people immunized against COVID-19 and from the Corona Forms application for people who have a negative test in the last 72 hours and those that recovered after infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The certificates will be issued in digital format, with the possibility of being displayed on the smartphone, but they will also be able to be presented in printed form. These will include a QR code that will contain a digital signature, so that, when reading it, the authenticity, integrity and validity of the document can be verified. The digital signature belongs to the issuer. EU digital certificates are free and will facilitate travel in the European space without epidemiological restrictions, as the freedom of movement will not be restricted, the STS says. The next stage includes the completion of the secure portal from where citizens will be able to download their certificates and the internal performance and security tests of the IT system.
According to the European work schedule, the certificates will be implemented in early July. The leaders of the 27 member states approved, earlier this week, the digital health certificate which should allow the reopening of borders and facilitate travel within the community bloc. President Klaus Iohannis has stated that Romania is in favor of a rapid and unitary implementation but insisted that the use of the document should not affect the citizens’ fundamental right to free movement. (MI)
