The European Union has not been spared by the coronavirus. On Wednesday 4 March, two people tested positive for the virus. The first works in the administration of the EU Council and the second in the European Defence Agency.
For the EU Council, it is a case “linked to a direct transmission of another known case in Belgium”. The institution, which employs 3,000 people, has indicated that it does not intend to change its meeting schedule. The extraordinary meeting of Home Affairs Ministers on Wednesday and the extraordinary meeting of Health Ministers on Friday 6 March have therefore been kept. However, the EU Council is currently in the process of identifying the people who have been in contact with the patient and is carrying out a thorough cleaning of the building, we have been told.
On the side of the European Defence Agency, this is a case of imported infection. The senior official in question returned from Italy on 23 February and began to feel ill the following weekend. One source confirmed that this person had had “ad hoc contact” with staff of other institutions, denying referring to a large number of people. As a precautionary measure, the European Defence Agency has decided to cancel all its scheduled meetings on its premises and staff travel abroad until 13 March. Those who have been in contact with the patient have been identified and are currently confined.
Ministerial meeting on 6 March on coronavirus
Member State Ambassadors also discussed the preparation for the Health Council dedicated to the coronavirus at their biweekly meeting on 4 March. They decided not to submit conclusions to Ministers. Their exchange of views mainly provided an opportunity to take stock of the measures taken by the European Commission and the Member States to limit the spread of the virus as much as possible. Belgium, which has a large number of EU buildings, circulated a written note summarising its policy towards the coronavirus. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)