Original article (in Croatian) was published on 11/11/2021
The EU General Court has allowed lawmakers who have appealed Covid certificates to enter the European Parliament with a quick home test. This does not mean that the court declared Covid certificates illegal, as some websites claim.
“Hasanbegovic did not make an imbecile statement, COVID CERTIFICATE IS ILLEGAL, the EU Court ruled and gave a temporary right to the “Group of six” led by two MEPs from Croatia”.
This is the title of a text published on a website Start (archived here) on November 7, stating that Marc Van Der Woude, President of the General Court of the European Union, has issued a temporary measure suspending the introduction of a digital green certificate for access to Parliament buildings to those representatives and employees who have appealed such a decision.
“Ivan Vilibor Sincic, Mislav Kolakusic and four other MEPs pointed out that David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, made an illegal decision to ban everyone from entering the European Parliament, and yesterday late in the afternoon the European Court gave them the right and temporarily suspended the decision of the first man of the European Parliament,” the text reveals.
According to Start, this was pointed out by the representatives of the Belgian non-governmental organization Notre Bon Droit and the law firm & De Bandt, which represent the applicants – members and employees of the European Parliament – before the General Court of the European Union.
They are also said to have managed to “prove that digital green certificates are illogical, unscientific and useless in resolving this crisis” and that they will be able to access Parliament using quick tests.
Information on the Court’s interim decision was shared on Facebook by the NGO Notre Bon Droit (archived here).
Without Sincic and Kolakusic
The European Parliament could not confirm to us who were the MEPs who sought access to the EP without Covid confirmation. They say it is personal information.
However, Romanian MEP Cristian Terheș posted on his Facebook part of the court decision, which states that they are Robert Roos, Anne-Sophie Pelletier, Francesca Donato, Virginie Joron and another person who asked to remain anonymous.
It is interesting that the names of Croatian MEPs Ivan Vilibor Sincic and Mislav Kolakusic are not on the list, although the two of them were among the MEPs who publicly protested against the introduction of Covid certificates for entering the EP.
Protest of MEPs
In late October, the Office of the European Parliament announced that starting November 3, a digital green certificate would be mandatory for anyone wishing to access the European Parliament building. The certificate proves that the person is either fully vaccinated or has immunity after recovery from Covid-19.
In addition, those entering Parliament’s premises may also show a negative PCR test result, which must not be older than 48 hours and must be carried out in a laboratory located in France, Belgium or Luxembourg. The decision also states that other forms of equivalent certification are recognized and provides a link to a page stating that, in addition to PCR, antigen tests are also recognized (this does not mean home tests, but those in which a medically trained person takes the sample).
The decision sparked protest from a small number of MEPs who had criticized the fact that Covid certificates were becoming mandatory for access to a number of places across Europe. Among those protesting at a press conference in the European Parliament was a Croatian MEP Ivan Vilibor Sincic (who, according to the EU Observer, used intimidation, claiming that the digital green certificate was designed to blackmail people and endanger their rights).
Press conferences of MEPs who opposed the introduction of Covid-19 certificates soon served as an occasion for new misinformation to spread on social networks. Reuters writes that the statement for the media by Ivan Vilibor Sincic and four other MEPs resulted in misinformation that the European Parliament opposes the introduction of digital green certificates, which is, of course, not true.
The four deputies do not make up the entire Parliament, and in addition, the decision on covid certificates was voted in Parliament in June. In the voting, 546 deputies were in favor, 93 against, while 51 abstained.
Two videos are attached to the text published on Start website. One refers to another press conference which, in addition to Sincic and four other MEPs, was attended by Mislav Kolakusic. We have repeatedly found that he spreads misinformation related to the pandemic (1, 2). Another video, posted on Kolakusic’s YouTube channel, shows the MEP giving a speech in which he once again states his “truth” about Covid-19 and the vaccination.
What does Parliament say?
To verify the allegations in the text, we turned to the European Parliament, where they confirmed that some MEPs and employees had indeed filed a lawsuit and temporarily fought for them to access Parliament with a quick negative test.
The decision on mandatory digital green certificates, including PCR test, vaccination or recovery, is in force until the end of January.
“It applies to all, with the exception of some MEPs and staff members (a total of about ten people) who have appealed to the General Court and are now covered by the interim measures issued by the President of the Court this weekend and pending further Court decision. We note that the President of the Court in his interim measures requires these individuals to take and submit a negative test and, if positive, to do a PCR test which must be negative in order to ensure access to the EP. Therefore, the President of the Court confirms that without proof of non-infection, entry into Parliament remains prohibited,” the EP replied, adding that quick tests refer to those tests that MEPs and employees do themselves when entering Parliament.
The certificate is not illegal
While it is true that some MEPs managed to fight for “special” status when entering Parliament, it is manipulative to claim that the EU Court, granting a temporary right to applicants to take quick tests when entering the premises, ruled that the certificates were illegal. Such a thing would not make sense because digital green certificates are still required for all other employees and Members of Parliament who have not complained about their introduction.
In addition, as stated in the text of the website Start, the President of the General Court of the European Union took into account the impact of the decision on the smooth, full and active exercise of the mandate of Members of the European Parliament but the decision on their lawsuit on (illegal) Covid confirmation has not yet been made. Interim measures involving a dozen employees and MEPs are in force until their arguments are examined in more detail, and a final decision is made.
Although the text states that the Belgian NGO Notre Bon Droit and the law firm & De Bandt unofficially announced that there is a possibility that quick tests will be used by MEPs and employees who are not officially signatories, we did not receive confirmation from the European Parliament.
CORRECTION: In this text, as well as in its title, it was originally stated that Croatian MEPs Mislav Kolakusic and Ivan Vilibor Sincic were in the group of MEPs who asked the court to revoke the Covid certificates for accession to the European Parliament. That information was inaccurate. Lawyers who filed the lawsuit are Robert Roos, Anne-Sophie Pelletier, Francesca Donato, Virginie Joron and another person who asked to remain anonymous. We apologize for this error.