Hr Taavi Aas 01.12.2021 nr 10.1-13/ 1214-1
Majandus- ja taristuminister
Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeerium
Hr Tanel Kiik
Tervise- ja tööminister
Sotsiaalministeerium
Austatud ministrid
Edastame teile Euroopa Komisjoni voliniku Adina Văleani kirja 29. novembrist 2021 nr
Ares(2021)7350850 (contact tracing of passengers / vaccination strategy).
Lugupidamisega
Aivo Orav
alaline esindaja
Lisa: kiri 1 lehel
Kersti Neeme
+32 2227 4342
[email protected]
Rue Guimard 11/13 1040 Brüssel Tel: +32 2 227 39 10
[email protected] https://eu.mfa.ee/et/
Ref. Ares(2021)7350850 - 29/11/2021
ADINA VĂLEAN Rue de la Loi, 200
MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION B-1049 Brussels
[email protected]
Brussels, 29 November 2021
Dear Minister,
The news about the new highly mutated COVID variant is testing once again our ability to act
rapidly and in a coordinated manner. The main lesson from almost two years of this pandemic
is that there should be no place for unilateral and uncoordinated action. In this vein, I would like
to thank you for your resolve in applying restrictive measures on passengers arriving from the
affected countries in southern Africa in order to limit the spread of the new variant.
I am writing today with two requests for your consideration:
First of all, this is the time to step up efforts on the contact tracing of passengers. Passenger
Locator Forms (PLFs) are an effective tool to identify cases and close contacts, and their use
is essential at this critical juncture. Over the past year we developed a common template of an
EU digital PLF1 that is ready to use, in case you do not have your own PLF system. Moreover,
we developed a PLF exchange platform to simplify and expedite the cross-border exchange of
passenger data. I would like to commend Italy and Spain for already using this solution and I
would like to urge all of you to follow their footsteps. My services are as always at your disposal
to assist you and can be reached here:
[email protected].
Secondly, we need once again to ensure that we protect the Single Market, as we successfully
did over the past months thanks to the Green Lanes. My plea here is that transport workers
(including seafarers and pilots) are prioritised in the administration of the booster doses in the
context of your vaccination strategies. We cannot afford to subject these categories to testing
requirements and systematic border checks, as these measures would lead to the paralysis of our
supply chains and would inflict to our economies and societies even harder consequences.
I am confident I can count on your attention and full cooperation.
Yours faithfully,
Adina VĂLEAN
1
https://app.euplf.eu/#/
Electronically signed on 29/11/2021 18:45 (UTC+01) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482