The European Commission has expressed its concern about Malta’s most recent decision to bar travellers who are not fully vaccinated and in possession of a vaccine certificate from entering the country.

“It is true that member states can implement restrictions to protect public health, but any such measures which restricts freedom of movement needs to be proportionate and non-discriminatory”, Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand said in a press briefing on Monday.

“A vaccination certificate cannot be a precondition for the exercise of free movement, this is one of the main principles of the EU Digital COVID-19 certificate regulation”, he added.

As from Wednesday 14 July, Malta will only be allowing people with a recognised vaccine certificate – which are those from the UK, EU, or Switzerland – to enter the country after case numbers have snowballed in a matter of days.

The measures, which were generally deemed to be acceptable locally – although the PN said that they were hurried and extreme, attracted criticism from the European Commission.

“We have concerns that the measures could discriminate against people who are not fully vaccinated and we have made contact with Malta and asked for explanation of the measures. We’ll raise this issue in a member states coordination meeting (IPCR)”, Wigand said.

The number of active cases in Malta has gone from 28 to over 600 in the space of just two weeks.

Prime Minister Robert Abela hinted on Sunday that the government had already received criticism from its EU counterparts for the measure, but said that it was a “tough but necessary” decision.