The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, pleaded on Wednesday 25 March, during a videoconference of the foreign ministers of the G7 (Germany, France, Italy and Canada, the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom), for strong international coordination to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
At the meeting, Mr Borrell “emphasised the importance of a highly coordinated and multilateral approach, while stepping up international cooperation and providing humanitarian aid to the most affected countries, particularly in Africa”, according to a statement by the European External Action Service (EEAS).
In particular, he drew his partners’ attention to Iran’s “difficult situation”. According to the EEAS, Mr Borrell stressed the importance of an “effective response [to this crisis], including unimpeded humanitarian aid and recovery measures, given the dramatic impact of the epidemic on the livelihoods of the ordinary Iranian population” (see EUROPE 12452/9). He recalled the EU’s support for Iran’s request for assistance from the IMF and “the need to avoid any punitive measures in the fight against the pandemic”.
And while the EU faces disinformation campaigns in connection with the epidemic (see EUROPE 12451/19), the High Representative stressed the need to ensure that citizens receive correct information, that special measures are in line with democratic values and that all countries have a common interest in combating disinformation and false reporting.
European Parliament calls on the EU to do more internationally
For their part, the chairs of the European Parliaments Committee on Foreign Affairs, David McAllister (EPP, Germany), Committee on Development, Tomas Tobé (EPP, Sweden), and Committee on Budgets, Johan van Overtveldt (ECR, Belgium), called for more EU investment to help non-Member States deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
“International cooperation is crucial to overcome this global crisis. The EU should take the lead in the global efforts to contain the pandemic and mitigate its impact”, they stressed in a letter dated 24 March to the High Representative and the Commissioners for International Partnerships, for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, and for Budget and Administration.
Stressing the importance of showing solidarity with affected non-Member States, in particular those in the EU’s immediate neighbourhood, the three Presidents urged the Commissioners to ensure that the potential effects of any measures taken by the EU and its Member States on third countries are duly taken into account, citing the compulsory authorisation procedure introduced for the export of medical devices.
They also called on the Commission and the EEAS to use all available resources and to seek ways to increase the impact of their response, “including through a dedicated task force to combat the virus”.
According to MEPs, the EU Solidarity Fund for major health emergencies should be extended. In addition, the increased mobilisation of the pre-accession, neighbourhood (ENI), stability and peace (IcSP), development cooperation (DCI) and European Development Fund (EDF) instruments “would be welcome”, they said.
MEPs warned that any new measures related to the pandemic should be financed mainly, until they are exhausted, from the margin of the ‘Europe in the World’ heading of the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework, which has been allocated €58.70 billion, rather than by redirecting existing funds. “This new challenge requires new resources in the form of fresh and unallocated funds, so as not to affect the EU’s capacity to support partner countries in other key areas, such as poverty reduction and democratic institution building”, they warned.
See the letter from the three parliamentary committee chairs: https://bit.ly/3duOeZj (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)