COORDINATED APPROACH OF THE EUROPEAN UNION FOR SAFE AND FREE MOVEMENT DURING THE COVID­19 PANDEMIC

GORDANIĆ Jelica (Институт зa мeђунaрoдну пoлитику и приврeду, Бeoгрaд), jelica@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a major health crisis that has greatly changed the lives and habits of all humanity. At EU level, each member state has applied restrictive measures restricting freedom of movement. This was necessary to allow a coordinated response by Member States to the pandemic. At the same time, the EU authorities have adopted a number of recommendations aimed at a more coherent approach to managing the emerging health crisis. The present paper is dedicated to the analysis of the EU Council Recommendation 2022/107 on a coordinated approach to facilitate safe free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Recommendation replaced the previous Recommendation 2020/1475. The envisaged measures according to the Recommendation put vaccination, testing, and recovery from the COVID-19 disease at the forefront, which is proven by the digital COVID certificate issued. This confirmation was aimed at facilitating freedom and security of movement within the EU without the application of additional restrictive measures. For the citizens of Serbia, as a candidate country for EU accession, this coordinated EU approach to securing freedom has also had certain consequences.

Keywords: European Union, pandemic, COVID-19, vaccination, EU digital COVID certificate, Serbia