The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) raised the level of risk of transmission of the Covid-19 virus from “moderate to high” on Monday 2 March. The European Commission, too, has raised its alert level: according to the President of the European institution, Ursula von der Leyen, no fewer than five Commissioners will now work closely together on a European response to this epidemic which has already claimed more than 3,000 lives worldwide, including 35 in Italy and 2 in France.
“Compared to seasonal influenza, coronavirus is a new type of virus that presents different types of infections and symptoms. The virus is spreading very quickly, so all topics must be taken into account”, the President of the European Commission said in front of many journalists. The team of five Commissioners will focus on three fronts: health, mobility and the economy.
20 Member States interested in joint procurements
However, announcements have been limited: in addition to the new ECDC risk assessment, Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides reported that 20 Member States have expressed their wish to participate in the joint procurement of medical countermeasures (the Twenty-Seven except Finland and Poland, which have not signed, and Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Lithuania and Portugal, which have not applied for the time being).
“I expect to receive offers within a week, and then we will proceed as quickly as possible”, Ms Kyriakides said.
Still on the health front, European coordination continues, with a tenth meeting of the Health Security Committee on 2 March and an extraordinary Health Council on Friday 6 March (see EUROPE 12436/7).
To a journalist who wondered about the diversity of measures taken by the different Member States, Ms Kyriakides said that the idea of coordination was to enable the Twenty-Seven to prepare, but that the specificities of each Member State also had to be taken into account. For her counterpart in crisis management, Janez Lenarčič, it is a matter of coordinating, not imposing measures.
The Commissioner for Health further indicated that she had invited EU Ministers to pay particular attention to preparedness and response measures in the following areas: providing adequate resources for health care, testing laboratories and active contact tracing, interventions at points of entry (e.g., airports) and targeted communication to the public and health workers.
Minimise travel restrictions
At this stage, the European Commission is advocating that the health measures taken to contain the epidemic should be limited to minimise travel disruption.
Controls at the internal borders of the Schengen area are still “not being taken into account”, said the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, thus continuing what was agreed last week by the experts (see EUROPE 12435/26).
The new expert group ‘Covid-19 information on borders’ holds weekly teleconferences on borders and, to date, “no problems have been reported in coordination with the health authorities, and so far no notifications of internal border controls” have been sent to the Commission.
According to Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean, it is “crucial to maintain citizens’ mobility” while the health crisis has “considerable consequences for the transport sector”. She welcomed the establishment of a website providing travellers with access to regularly updated information. Travellers will benefit from “comprehensive information on transport and coronavirus and an overview of options available, including reimbursement”.
Indeed, Ms Vălean assured that the first thing to do for companies, in the event of flight cancellations, was to ensure reimbursement. “Passengers are entitled to compensation if they have not been informed of a cancellation at least 14 days before departure”, she explained.
On the other hand, this compensation is not due if the cancellation, even in the short term, is due to extraordinary circumstances that could not be avoided and even if all possible measures have been taken, the Commissioner said. The coronavirus outbreak could, in her view, fall under this exemption.
“But the assessment is made on a case-by-case basis and ultimately under the authority of the EU Court of Justice”, she added.
EU legislation on passenger rights does not, however, cover the situation where passengers voluntarily decide to give up a flight or any other transport service.
Economic risk materialises
The downside risk posed by the coronavirus outbreak is materialising and “it has become clear the impact is going to be significant”, said EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni. He cited the tourism, transport, automotive and general supply chain sectors as being most affected. However, “it’s still too soon to measure” the impact of this epidemic on the European economy, he reiterated.
On Monday, the OECD sharply revised down its economic forecasts for 2020. After 1.2% of GDP in 2019, growth in the euro area is expected to slow to 0.8%. Germany (0.3%) is reportedly on the brink of stagnation, Italy on the brink of recession (0.0%), while the French economy is running out of steam (0.9%).
Mr Gentiloni recalled that European fiscal rules already provide for the possibility to take into account extraordinary situations in order to allow a Member State to deviate from its budgetary path agreed at European level. So far, no Member State has submitted a formal request to the European Commission.
The measures that the Italian authorities have already announced are being taken into consideration “in spirit of solidarity and understanding”, Mr Gentiloni promised, however, calling for a concerted and timely European response.
The Finance Ministers of the euro area countries will meet with their counterparts from countries outside the euro area on Wednesday 4 March by videoconference to take stock of the situation, together with the Finance Ministers of the G7 countries. According to Mr Gentiloni, the Eurogroup will address the issues of liquidity in the financial system and employment risks.
Africa capable of coping, says von der Leyen
The European Union, which has already mobilised €230 million to support the global fight against the virus, plans to provide more assistance to meet “this global challenge”, said Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič. It’s about solidarity.
Africa, where many health systems are vulnerable, has so far been relatively spared, with 4 confirmed cases according to Monday afternoon’s assessment (2 in Egypt, 1 in Nigeria and 1 in Algeria).
Asked by a journalist whether the subject had been discussed in Addis Ababa at the meeting between the European Commission and the African Union (see EUROPE 12435/2) a week ago, Ms von der Leyen said she had informed AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki about the situation in Europe.
At that time, “there was only one case [of infection] in Egypt”, Ms von der Leyen said, confident in the African Union’s ability to respond. She went on to say, “The African Union is quite capable of establishing its own mechanism [for responding to Covid-19], but we are quite willing to share our experiences. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean, Aminata Niang, Mathieu Bion and Agathe Cherki)