BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission proposed Thursday to extend by a year the use of COVID certificates aimed at facilitating travel across the 27-nation bloc during the pandemic, until the end of June 2023.

Despite the announcement by the director of the World Health Organization’s Europe office that Europe is now entering a “plausible endgame” to the pandemic, the EU said the virus is still very prevalent on the continent.

“At this stage it is not possible to determine the impact of a possible increase in infections in the second half of 2022 or of the emergence of new variants," the Commission said.

Didier Reynders, the commissioner for justice, said a failure to extend the scheme could lead to “confusion and obstacles" if it expires while the pandemic is not over.

To comes into effect, the extension proposal must be accepted by EU members and the European Parliament.

The COVID-19 certificates entered into force in July last year and have been a successful tool to help EU citizens travel in the region in coronavirus times without restrictions such as quarantines. So far, EU countries have issued over 1.2 billion certificates.

Under the updated rules in place since February, EU countries must accept vaccination certificates for a period of nine months following the administration of the last dose of the primary vaccination, or after the booster shot.

A negative PCR test obtained no more than 72 hours before travel or a negative rapid antigen test no more than one day old can also be included in the certificate, as can proof of recovery from COVID-19 no more than six months ago.

In addition to the extension, the EU's executive branch proposed that certificates may be issued to people participating in clinical trials for COVID-19 shots to encourage vaccine research.

Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic