The international cooperation and solidarity required for an effective global response to the COVID-19 pandemic will again be at the heart of two informal Ministerial videoconferences, convened this week by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
On Friday 3 April, the EU Foreign Ministers will meet for the second time since the beginning of the crisis and then on Wednesday 8 April, it will be the turn of the EU Ministers for Development Cooperation.
“We must act collectively at the global level. We cannot look only at problems in Europe because problems in other regions will, sooner or later, be also our own problems”, Mr Borrell said in a video on Wednesday 1 April, referring to the role the EU is playing in cooperating with UN agencies, promoting solidarity in multilateral fora (G7 and G20) and mobilising 232 million euros in support of the global response to the pandemic through the World Health Organization (WHO).
Foreign Ministers will follow up on their videoconference of 23 March (see EUROPE 12452/8).
Therefore, they will discuss stepping up efforts to coordinate consular assistance to facilitate the repatriation of European citizens stranded by hundreds of thousands in non-Member States as a result of the closure of airspace and wishing to return home. They will have an exchange of views on strengthening international cooperation and assistance to non-Member States facing the pandemic (see EUROPE 12455/21). They will deal with ways of combating disinformation in the context of this pandemic (see EUROPE 12457/32).
European Development Ministers will be invited to discuss support for developing countries (see EUROPE 12457/14).
The day after the G20 leaders' and Finance Ministers' meetings (see EUROPE 12458/13), a European aid package for Africa is being prepared, Mr Borrell announced. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)