Are we still in the first wave or already in the second wave of coronavirus in Europe? “It's hard to say, but what is certain is that we have to strike back” was the reply the Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) gave to the MEPs on the Committee on Public Health on Wednesday 2 September.
“That's a bit of a philosophical question”, Andrea Ammon continued, pointing out that this was nevertheless the first time that cases had begun increasing again after a drop in April following containment measures put in place by most EU member states.
According to figures presented by the ECDC, almost 2.2 million people have been infected with coronavirus in the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA), and 181,992 deaths have been recorded. “We either rely on the data provided directly by member states or their health authorities or we take it from their official sites”, Ammon said, although she did not rule out the possibility that some cases fall through the cracks. This, however, is a trend that is neither new nor specific to Covid, she said.
Lack of coordination in the EU widely criticised
During this virtual discussion, MEPs were largely critical of the chaotic management of the pandemic during the summer period. Martin Hojsik (Renew Europe, Slovakia) went as far as to say that “it’s an absolute disgrace”.
In point of fact, that morning, Dacian Cioloș (Romania), the Chair of Hojsik’s political group, had called on the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council and demanded greater coordination. In his letter, Cioloș called for the rapid establishment of strong and intuitive coordination between the two institutions and European health ministers in order to provide clear guidance, and for an operational unit led by the Commission and made up of one representative from each Member State to act as a point of contact.
“The ECDC is not responsible for the way countries put their own interests first. The cause is the lack of trust between member states and a lack of cooperation in healthcare”, said Véronique Trillet-Lenoir (France), who is a member of the same group.
The role of the ECDC and the health budget
With regard to her agency’s role, the ECDC’s Director greatly appreciated the recent change in Member States’ views. “I was a bit surprised to hear that there were proposals to strengthen the ECDC's mandate to issue scientific recommendations. That's been a taboo subject for 15 years!”, she said. On the other hand, it was a matter of regret for her that the increase in the European health budget was not as large as the increase announced previously (it should be noted that the agreement reached by member states does not include the Commission's proposal). “If you have less budget, you have to adjust your ambitions”, she noted diplomatically. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)