On Thursday 19 March, Michel Barnier, the European Union's chief negotiator for future relations with the United Kingdom announced that he had “tested positive for COVID-19”.
“I’m feeling as well as can be expected at home. (...) I’m keeping my spirits up”, he said via Twitter, adding that he and his team are following the health guidelines closely. He went on to say: “Each one of us has a role to play to win this collective war against the virus”.
Michel Barnier's team, which was already working remotely, is therefore required to take the necessary precautionary measures and isolate itself.
The European Commission has indicated that its President, Ursula von der Leyen, will be tested as a precautionary measure. “Mrs von der Leyen last met Mr Barnier two weeks ago. She has no symptoms and is therefore continuing to work. She will be tested in view of this announcement, but for the time being, her work will proceed as planned, just like the rest of the College of Commissioners”, said Eric Mamer, von der Leyen’s spokesperson.
Frans Timmermans, the First Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, is self-isolating until 20 March, after having been in contact with Brune Poirson, the French Minister of State attached to the Minister for Ecological Inclusion and the Inclusive Transition, who herself tested positive for the coronavirus (see EUROPE 12447/10).
When questioned about the College of European Commissioners’ ability to make decisions when it meets via videoconference, Mamer gave an assurance that the required quorum had been achieved on Wednesday and that he believed that the Legal Service would have come forward if there had been any legal doubts on this matter. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)