The European Union on Thursday launched its digital COVID-19 certificate system, a “vaccine passport” type credential meant to smooth border crossings between the EU’s 27 member states. Called the EU digital COVID certificate, the credential indicates if a traveller has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, has received a recent negative test result, or has immunity due to recent recovery. It takes the form of a QR code which can be displayed on an electronic device such as a smartphone or printed out. The European Commission (EC), the bloc’s executive body, said in a statement that 21 Member States had already started to issue the certificates ahead of the July 1 deadline, while five EU countries were set to start using the system today. There is a phasing-in period of six weeks for the issuance of certificates for those EU countries that need more time. “In March, we promised to have an EU-wide system …