The European College of Commissioners gave its green light, on Wednesday 3 June, to classify the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19 disease, as a category 3 biological agent under Directive 2000/54/EC on the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to biological agents at work.
The virus, thus, is categorised alongside SARS-CoV-1 or MERS-CoV, the zoonotic virus of the Middle East, whereas the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and many MEPs would have preferred to classify the virus as a category 4 biological agent (which includes the Ebola virus) because of the lack of effective prophylaxis or treatment against it. They proposed to downgrade it later to category 3, once an effective therapy is in place (see EUROPE 12487/2).
The text will now be presented to the EU Council and to the European Parliament. The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs is likely to vote on Thursday 11 June. The S&D, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL are expected to object with the support of MEPs from the M5S.
The Commission had explained the position of the national experts during a debate in Parliament, stressing that the question of vaccine development and the seriousness of the disease also needed to be taken into account, since Covid-19 does not systematically cause serious symptoms, unlike the Ebola virus (see EUROPE 12491/17). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)