The willingness to respond in a coordinated and united manner to the Covid-19 pandemic expressed by European leaders during their videoconference on 29 October (see EUROPE 12592/1) was at the heart of two new virtual meetings on Friday 30 October: that of the European Commissioners involved in the Covid-19 response and that of the European health ministers.
The EU27 ministers also discussed the reform of the World Health Organization (WHO) after its much-criticised handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
WHO reform
The WHO must be “more transparent, more effective and more potent”, said German Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn. “We must act now and not wait for the end of the pandemic”, he continued, stressing that the EU Council would adopt conclusions to this effect in the coming weeks by written procedure (see EUROPE 12586/3).
At the press conference, the German minister said that the discussions revolved around the financing - the compulsory contributions of the Member States and private funding – of the multilateral organisation, bearing in mind that the United States had announced its wish to leave this body on 6 July 2021.
“Sometimes it takes a crisis to really appreciate what we have. But sometimes it also takes a crisis to understand what we need to improve”, said Commissioner Stella Kyriakides to the ministers. According to her speaking points to ministers, she stressed the need to distinguish between travel and trade-related restrictions under international health regulations. “Transparency about who is complying with the rules is fundamental”, she added.
Tracing, screening, vaccines... and data exchange
With regard to the fight against Covid-19, ministers continued discussions on a common approach on screening, quarantine and tracing, pending a future vaccine. In doing so, they relied on the package of additional measures presented mid-week by the European Commission (see EUROPE 12591/1).
Ms Kyriakides, for her part, focused her speech on the need for more data sharing. According to the general communication of 29 October, only five Member States currently share information on the EU data platform. “Tests alone are not enough. We need solid data from you to support better coordination and decision making. Helping the ECDC to do its job effectively will help you”, said the Commissioner, referring specifically to data related to hospital bed availability, drug shortages and sharing knowledge about the outcomes of different treatments.
While the number of infections in the EU last week (1.1 million) is equivalent to the entire population of the Belgian capital, the Commissioner supported the restrictive measures implemented by several Member States. “We need to pull through this: with increased testing and contact tracing; with surge capacities for the health sector; where needed with restrictions on everyday life to break the chain of transmission”, she said.
Commission continues technical work
On the side of the European Commission, President Ursula von der Leyen concluded the meeting of Commissioners involved in the pandemic response with a commitment to intensify work on “data sharing, a platform of scientific advisors, ICU capacity, testing, vaccines and disinformation”.
The institution’s spokesperson also clarified the announcement made the day before by Ms von der Leyen on the €220 million to finance patient transfers (see EUROPE 12592/1), acknowledging that this was an announcement already made in June. “This money is available and we are ready to receive applications. [...] We already have some requests and we are analysing them”, said Balazs Ujvari. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)