The EU summit that opens in Brussels on Thursday 24 June will begin with a new update on the health situation in the EU. The need to return to free movement in the EU without the risk of worsening the epidemiological situation should be emphasised by several states.
More specifically, discussions will probably focus on the implementation of the new digital certificate and the coordination of the EU27 in this respect, as well as on the details of the restrictions to be maintained.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that she would like to see other European countries force travellers from areas with a high number of Delta variant cases (formerly known as the ‘Indian variant’) to quarantine.
The issue of variants will also be given special attention at the summit.
Many Heads of State or Government have indicated their intention to discuss the issue, a senior European official confirmed.
According to a draft EU Council conclusion obtained by EUROPE, leaders should agree on the need “to remain vigilant and coordinated in the face of developments, including the emergence and spread of variants”.
70% of new SARS-CoV-2 infections at the beginning of August are expected to be due to the Delta variant in the EU and the European Economic Area. And this rate should reach 90% by the end of August, indicates a report published on Wednesday 23 June by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The Delta variant is 40-60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant (formerly known as the ‘English variant’) and may be associated with a higher risk of hospitalisation, the ECDC said, recalling that people whose vaccination is still incomplete are less well protected against infection by the Delta variant than by the other variants. This holds true for all vaccines.
“However, full vaccination offers almost equivalent protection against the Delta variant”, the institution clarified. EU leaders are therefore expected to reiterate their call for continued vaccination efforts, as they did in late May (see EUROPE 12726/2).
Global health. There is no big news on the ‘global health’ front either. The EU27 will certainly call in their conclusions for rapid progress in ongoing work to “help boost global production of vaccines and universal access to them”.
They will also welcome the decision of the WHO to convene a special health assembly in November to discuss the draft International Treaty on Pandemic Control (see EUROPE 12730/2).
Lessons from the pandemic. Finally, the meeting will provide an opportunity for leaders to review the lessons learned from the pandemic at this stage. The discussions will be held on the basis of a report prepared by the European Commission (see EUROPE 12742/5).
See the draft conclusions of the European Council dated 21 June: https://bit.ly/3zOc3Xq (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)