A second Austrian aircraft, co-financed by the EU, has repatriated 315 more EU citizens from Marrakech, the European Commission confirmed on Wednesday 18 March.
On the same day, the College of Commissioners discussed the European response to the coronavirus crisis and, in particular, the repatriation of European citizens stranded outside the EU, but also those in an EU Member State other than their own, due to travel restrictions (see other news).
This brings to 605 the number of European citizens repatriated this week by mobilising the Commission's financial support under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which Austria activated for the second time on Tuesday (see EUROPE 12448/8). Assistance has been extended to Swiss, American and Bosnian nationals.
“We have co-financed flights organised by Member States. We will continue within the limits of budgetary capacity, but the Member States must help each other. We hope there will be more and more options available”, said Commission Chief Spokesperson, Eric Mamer.
Some 80,000 people are currently stranded outside the EU, according to the Commission.
High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič, together with the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), are working to support the repatriation efforts of EU citizens from third countries.
“No Member State other than Austria has made use of the Civil Protection Mechanism, which must be called upon as a last resort”, said a senior Commission official.
Consular assistance is in fact the responsibility of the Member States, with the EEAS only providing coordination.
Since the beginning of the new coronavirus outbreak, the EU has supported the repatriation of 1,162 EU citizens from Wuhan (China), Japan, Oakland and Morocco, by mean of its Civil Protection Mechanism. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)