Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, in a written answer on 9 July 2026, sought to reassure the European Parliament that the health risk from hantavirus in the EU is very low and that the Commission has no plans to reintroduce instruments similar to the EU digital COVID certificate. The answer, addressed to MEPs Susanna Ceccardi, Anna Maria Cisint, Silvia Sardone, and Isabella Tovaglieri, also defended the Commission's transparency record regarding vaccine procurement negotiations.
Várhelyi cited a threat assessment by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) stating that the risk to the general population from the Andes virus, linked to a cruise ship outbreak, is very low. He noted that the virus does not transmit easily between humans and that the rodent species carrying it are not native to Europe, making sustained animal-to-human transmission unlikely. The Health Security Committee (HSC) has issued an opinion on managing the outbreak and continues to monitor the situation.
The Commissioner did not explicitly rule out future digital health certificates but emphasised that public health responses require tailored, context-specific measures. He referenced Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on serious cross-border threats to health, under which Member States coordinate within the HSC. On transparency, Várhelyi stated that the Commission is committed to high standards and that requests for access to documents are assessed under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, which protects certain interests under Article 4.
The answer contained no concrete proposals, numerical targets, or deadlines. It reaffirmed existing legal frameworks and risk assessments without announcing new policy initiatives. The response is likely to be seen by critics as insufficiently addressing concerns about past transparency failures, such as the 'Pfizergate' controversy over COVID-19 vaccine contract negotiations. The Commission's stance suggests a cautious approach, prioritising existing coordination mechanisms over new EU-level instruments, while leaving the door open for future measures if the epidemiological situation changes.