The repatriation by air of European citizens stranded in non-Member States has been a real headache and is progressing, and both the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism and the European Foreign Ministers are mobilising. The latter will address the issue on Friday 3 April at a videoconference convened by the High Representative, Josep Borrell, on the international consequences of the COVID-19 crisis (see EUROPE 12459/9).
“Of the 600,000 citizens who had indicated their wish to return, 350,000 have been able to return and 250,000 are still stuck, on the tenth day of efforts to coordinate consular assistance and EU contacts (outreach) worldwide to put pressure on non-Member States to grant the right to land”, one senior official said on Thursday. Of the 230 scheduled flights, 40 have already taken place and others are scheduled through 7, 8 and 9 April.
The task is difficult, he said, “especially for small groups of citizens in remote areas, which is why efforts need to be intensified”. He estimates that by the end of the crisis, around 10% of the European citizens concerned will have been repatriated through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which co-finances the flights.
“So far, we have repatriated 10,017 European citizens by co-financing 47 flights”, stressed Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič on Thursday evening after a “fruitful” videoconference with the political coordinators of the European Parliament’s Environment and Health Committee.
The strategic reserve of medical equipment RescEU,which has just been set up to help Member States facing shortages, was also debated with MEPs. The Commission is “confident that it will be able to announce good news early next week” about the Member State(s) hosting the stocks, according to one source. The coordinators have been meeting weekly with the relevant Commissioners since the start of the novel coronavirus crisis. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)