European leaders discussed the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic for almost 3 hours by videoconference on Thursday 29 October. While they shared their experiences and stressed the importance of better European coordination, they did not take any formal decisions.
The European Commission, on the other hand, has announced the mobilisation of €220 million to support the cross-border transfer of patients in the event of overcrowding in hospitals.
Its president, Ursula von der Leyen, also hinted that the EU was having “good discussions” with a seventh pharmaceutical company for pre-ordering its candidate vaccine. Earlier in the day, the Commission’s Health Director General Sandra Gallina told MEPs about the US company Novavax. “That way, we would have the same portfolio of vaccines as the Americans”, she said.
This videoconference is a follow-up to the European summit of 15 and 16 October, during which the EU27 committed themselves to a more regular exchange of views on the pandemic. In their conclusions, they referred to a work of coordination, “including quarantine rules, cross-border contact tracing, screening strategies, joint evaluation of screening methods, mutual recognition of tests and temporary restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU” (see EUROPE 12583/1).
No border closures
Since then, the situation has continued to deteriorate, forcing governments to reintroduce travel restrictions. The situation is particularly worrying in the Czech Republic and Belgium, two countries with a large ratio of infections and deaths in relation to their populations.
Yet, unlike in the first wave, European leaders seem determined to preserve free movement within the Schengen area. “It is important, especially for Germany as a country at the centre of Europe, that the borders remain open”, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Asked about this risk, and while Hungary continues to apply controls at its internal borders, Ms von der Leyen added, “I think we’ve learnt the lesson of the spring. [Closing borders is] not appropriate, didn’t stop the virus”. “What is remarkable is the willingness, widely shared by all the leaders, to do everything possible to preserve the strength of the internal market and guarantee supply chains”, added the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, convinced that “the impulses from the very beginning of the crisis” have been abandoned.
Ms von der Leyen also indicated that a pilot project would start in “November” with the aim of arriving at a single European passenger locator form to facilitate travel within the EU by the end of 2020. It will be important to connect the national forms, currently in use in 11 countries, especially “when things get better”, she said, drawing a parallel with efforts to connect national apps for traceability of Covid-19 cases. “19 national apps” will join the European gateway platform, she welcomed, urging Europeans to download these digital tools on a massive scale to their mobile phones.
Screening policies
Mr Michel mentioned two subjects particularly discussed by the Heads of State in the wake of the proposals presented by the Commission the day before: screening and contact tracing policies as well as vaccines (see EUROPE 12591/1).
On screening, the leaders took note of the recommendation that relies heavily on antigen detection tests, which are faster than PCR tests. “We need to have quick validation at EU level of antigens tests, [they] have an important role to play. We’ll work on the validation on a EU level, to allow a mutual recognition of test results amongst”, explained Ms von der Leyen.
On Wednesday, the Commission announced €100 million worth of antigenic test acquisitions and the imminent launch of a joint procurement procedure.
While waiting for the vaccines, preparations are necessary
The meeting also focused heavily on vaccines. At the press conference, Mr Michel summarised the exchanges around four key objectives, namely: – ensuring an equitable distribution of vaccines purchased on behalf of the EU; – identifying together the priority populations; – addressing logistical issues, particularly the storage of future vaccines; – and improving communication to prevent fake news.
At present, the Commission has signed advance purchase agreements worth €1.02 billion with AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi-GSK to pre-order doses of their candidate vaccine. Others could follow with CureVac , BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna (an additional €1.45 billion) (see EUROPE 12591/1).
In the European Parliament, Ms Gallina said the first doses would start being available on a very limited basis (40-50 million doses for the EU27) in December or January, provided the European Medicines Agency gives a favourable opinion. Access to more doses will not occur until April.
Member States were invited to draw up a priority list. “Some Member States want to vaccinate 100, 70 or 30% of their population. This is a national choice”, Ms Gallina said, recalling that the WHO and the Commission recommend that “at least 30% of the population” be vaccinated to promote herd immunity. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean, Camille-Cerise Gessant and Mathieu Bion)