The European Parliament has not opposed the use of COVID-19 vaccine passes, contrary to claims on social media. While a small number of MEPs voiced opposition to mandated use of passes, this is not representative of the whole parliament.
On social media, users have shared a video (here , here) that shows four members of the European Parliament (MEPs) holding a press conference.
The video has been titled: “EU PARLIAMENT OPPOSES VACCINE MANDATE.”
The footage shows a news conference held in Strasbourg, called: “Defending fundamental rights by opposing the misuse of Digital Green Certificate”.
Attended by MEPs Christine Anderson, Francesca Donato, Ivan Vilibor Sincic, and Cristian Terhes, it is referenced in the weekly agenda for the parliament (here).
In the news conference, Terhes says that the four MEPs were voicing their concerns about the use of the Digital COVID Certificate, or Green Certificate (here).
The certificate is proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, received a negative test result or recovered from the disease, and has been used across Europe to allow access to venues like bars and restaurants.
MEPs voted overwhelmingly for the pass in June (here), with 546 in favour and 93 against. There were 51 MEPs who abstained.
Also in the video, the MEPs said they opposed the requirement for both European Parliament staff and lawmakers to have the pass to enter the building.
However, the decision to implement the measure at the parliament building came after the majority of the chamber’s vice presidents voted in favour of using it, an email obtained by Politico said (here).
VERDICT
Missing context. The video shows four MEPs, not the whole parliament, opposing the use of vaccine passes.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.
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