Sunday

28th May 2023

EU steps up coronavirus fight in first online summit

  • The Parlamentarium is one of the parliament's venues that shut its doors on Tuesday (Photo: European Parliament)

EU leaders on Tuesday (10 March) agreed to step up common action in Europe's fight against the spread of the coronavirus, after on Monday Italy became the first EU country to go into lockdown to stop the virus from spreading.

The EU-27 leaders held a teleconference on Tuesday evening focusing on containing the spread of the virus and mitigating the economic fallout.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

After the meeting, EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced a €25bn coronavirus investment fund for the health care sector, labour market and SMEs with €7.5bn to be released from the current EU budget, and the rest to be leveraged later.

"We will use all of our means at our disposal to make sure that our economy can weather this storm," von der Leyen said.

The commission will draw up guidelines by the end of the week on the use of state aid spending and flexibility in EU fiscal rules to help countries counter the economic impact of the outbreak.

The commission will hold daily phone conference with EU countries' health and internal affairs ministers. It will also assemble a group of epidemiologists and virologists to give advice.

Commission officials will also asses the availability of protective equipment and respiratory devices, and their production.

EU council president Charles Michel, in a reference to France and Germany which had banned most of the export of protective equipment, said that the EU's internal market needs to function properly.

He added that "any unjustified obstacles" need to be avoided, particularly when it comes to masks and respirators.

"The spread of the virus takes place and will take place. The most important part right now is to slow down the spread to prolong the time before infection takes place," von der Leyen said.

She said the commission had already released €140m for research on vaccines and treatment.

Airport slots

Commission president Urusla von der Leyen on Tuesday also announced that the executive will roll out temporary legislation on airport slots, so that airlines will not have to fly almost empty planes in order to maintain their rights to fly at airports.

She said traffic is expected to decline further, and that aviation is only one of the sectors hit by coronavirus. The EU is estimated to have lost €1bn in tourism per month since January.

Industry commissioner Thierry Breton held a discussion with manufacturers of protective equipment, to discuss the state of supply.

EU officials have been urging France, Germany and the Czech Republic to lift national controls on the export of protective medical gear, which was introduced to avoid shortages at home.

"This is a crucial time for European cooperation and solidarity and for people to see it in action," commission vice-president Margarethe Vestager said on Tuesday.

"Fragmentation of efforts makes us very vulnerable, we need to share resources, information, expertise, equipment, information on testing, and treatment-equipment protocols," she added.

Vestager also said the commission is ready to consider compensation measures for companies hit by the coronavirus outbreak - and said EU state aid rules leave "ample scope" for member states to help out troubled firms.

"Better to take those bold measures now, to protect as many people as possible from the virus," commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters on Tuesday, adding that the commission will support Italy with "any means and measures."

Strasbourg cancelled

A meeting of EU trade ministers, planned for Thursday in Brussels, has meanwhile been cancelled due to the spread of the virus.

A meeting of home affairs ministers scheduled for Friday, however, is expected to go ahead given the tense migration situation on the Greece-Turkey border. A meeting of justice ministers on the same day has been cancelled.

The European Parliament has also stepped up measures to combat the virus.

European parliament president David Sassoli entered a two-week self-quarantine after having spent the weekend in his native Italy.

The parliament cancelled all of its activities for next week and the second week of April.

It has once again cancelled its plenary in Strasbourg, and will hold it in the beginning of April in Brussels instead.

Cancelling the Strasbourg plenary has been a sensitive political issue: most MEPs want to do away with the costly monthly travelling, but the EU treaty, at the insistence of host France, requires a dozen plenaries to be held in the French city.

The parliament has also temporarily shut the doors of two of its Brussels-based museums, the House of European History and the Parlamentarium.

In the meantime, Belgium's federal government has recommended cancelling all indoor events expecting more than a 1,000-strong crowd - but the decision to cancel lies with mayors.

Schools will remain open, but teleworking is encouraged.

Coronavirus: EU ministers urge members to share supplies

EU health ministers voiced concerns about the possible shortage of protective equipment and medicines in some member states, after Germany, France, and the Czech Republic blocked the export of anti-virus gear.

Coronavirus: EU at high risk amid global panic

The European disease prevention agency on Monday increased the risk of coronavirus infection in the EU to "high," as the outbreak spread to 18 member states. The commission also launched a "corona response team" to work on halting the disease.

Feature

Coronavirus hysteria hits Romania

Romanian authorities earlier this week confirmed the first, and only, case of coronavirus infection - yet public hysteria over a possible national outbreak hit the country days before.

Europe prepares piecemeal coronavirus shutdown

EU countries have introduced partial travel bans, shut down schools, sports and cultural events, closed cinemas and theatres in an effort to slow down the spread of covonavirus. Fears over the economic turmoil also grow.

Feature

Death in Venice? Italy's tourism on life-support

"This is the worst crisis Italy has had to face since the end of the Second World War" says Emanuele Felice, professor of economic history at the University of Chieti-Pescara, and economic advisor to Italy's Democratic Party.

Column

What a Spanish novelist can teach us about communality

In a world where cultural clashes and sectarianism seems to be on the increase, Spanish novelist Javier Cercas (b.1962) takes the opposite approach. He cherishes both life in the big city and in the countryside.

Latest News

  1. How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon
  2. EU criminal complicity in Libya needs recognition, says expert
  3. Europe's missing mails
  4. MEPs to urge block on Hungary taking EU presidency in 2024
  5. PFAS 'forever chemicals' cost society €16 trillion a year
  6. EU will 'react as appropriate' to Russian nukes in Belarus
  7. The EU needs to foster tech — not just regulate it
  8. EU: national energy price-spike measures should end this year

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us