At the plenary session held in a special format on Thursday 26 March, all of the political groups in the European Parliament, with the exception of the far right, called for greater European solidarity in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Approximately 30 MEPs took part in the debate on the health crisis in the European Parliament following attempts by the Secretary General of the Parliament to discourage MEPs from attending the Parliament because of the risk of spreading the virus. 687 other MEPs did, however, participate in the on-line vote that authorised activation of an urgency procedure with regard to airport slots, emergency budgetary measures and assistance to candidate countries (see other news).
Mapping stocks
Croatia, which holds the rotating Presidency of the EU Council, was not represented. Nikolina Brnjac, Croatia’s Secretary of State for Relations with the European Parliament, explained the lack of representation on Twitter during the morning, citing the recent earthquake in Zagreb and the spread of Covid-19. She nevertheless sent a written statement to the European Parliament (to read the statement, go to: https://bit.ly/3bto5IO ).
Following an emotional speech by Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, the Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations, closed the debate by providing new information on the assessment of public health requirements.
At the request of the Heads of State or Government, the European Commission has been engaged in a mapping exercise for several weeks, and has stated that Europe will require 200 million masks, 30 million respirators and 15 000 ventilators per week for the next three months.
After he had presented these figures, Maroš Šefčovič welcomed the fact that the joint procurement of a range of medical equipment is either in the process of being completed or has already been completed (see EUROPE 12453/15). Based on his discussions with the industry, he said “I'm pretty sure that very soon we will be able to have those crucial technologies”.
Learning from the crisis
A large number of MEPs called on the European Union to learn lessons from the current pandemic. Some MEPs believed that this evaluation should be completed as a matter of urgency, while others thought that it should wait until the crisis is over.
In general, the groups stuck to their traditional positions: the pro-European political groups called for greater European solidarity, while the Identity and Democracy group complained about a “series of mistakes, shortcomings and failures” on the part of the EU.
“The European institutions are present. They haven’t gone missing. It is solidarity that is lacking”, commented Esteban González Pons (EPP, Spain). “There needs to be a coordinated approach to this crisis. It is shocking that once again some countries are going it alone”, said Pedro Marques (S&D, Portugal), highlighting the fact that his group supported a package of 25 urgent measures, including a European unemployment insurance scheme or a temporary minimum income scheme to protect workers.
Sophie in 't Veld (Renew Europe, Netherlands) criticised the different containment regimes in Member States and the border battles over test kits. “It is unfortunate that nationalist reactions predominate”, she said.
In her speech, von der Leyen also stressed that “a crisis without borders cannot be resolved by putting up barriers between us”. “There is not a single Member State that can claim to be able to meet the need for medical equipment and supplies on its own”, she added. She believes that the EU's main power, indeed its only power, will be to ensure that equipment is provided to those people who need it most. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)