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Brussels has set aside 220 million euros to transfer Covid-19 patients from the worst affected member states to neighbors with spare hospital beds, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said today.
Following a video conference with the 27 EU leaders, including Micheál Martin, Ms Von der Leyen asked that European capitals share data on the coronavirus, as “the good use of money requires good information in return.”
The leaders heard calls for greater coordination in their responses to the epidemic, which is once again sweeping across Europe in a second wave that quickly surpassed the original disaster in March and April.
They were urged not to close the borders with each other, but to work together to share the best techniques to control the virus and prepare for the distribution of an eventual vaccine.
According to her spokesperson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told leaders that “a coordinated European approach is of great importance to combat the pandemic.
“Especially for Germany, as a country in the center of Europe, it is important that the borders remain open, that there is a functioning business cycle and that we fight the pandemic together,” he said.
Ms Von der Leyen, herself an academic epidemiologist before entering German politics, said “mass testing” would be key to overcoming the crisis and called on EU states to adopt joint standards for rapid antigen testing. .
“This will allow us to describe the optimal environment for different forms of testing,” he said.
“And it will allow us a mutual recognition of test results across the European Union. And that, of course, is especially important when making essential travel.”
In a tweet, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said there had been “a good discussion” and “although each country organizes its own healthcare system, we must work together where we can.”
The informal videoconference, hosted by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, is supposed to become a semi-regular forum for EU leaders to coordinate their response over the next few months.
EU face-to-face summits have been shortened or postponed amid fears that senior officials are exposed to or further spread the virus, with Belgium, and Brussels in particular, badly hit.
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Today’s videoconference came as the second wave of the virus takes hold in Europe with a large increase in infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
France is introducing a four-week national lockdown starting tomorrow, and Germany will close all bars, restaurants and other social venues until the end of next month.
Desperate to avoid the mistakes and divisions of the first wave, EU leaders sought to coordinate the purchase and development of test kits, including rapid antibody tests that could help identify clusters of infections more quickly.
Charles Michel wants countries to speed up vaccination plans to ensure that limited first doses, if available, can be quickly distributed to those who need them most.
The European Commission estimates that there will not be enough vaccine injections available to inoculate the entire EU population of 450 million before 2022. Leaders will try to establish a clear definition of priority groups.
Member states are also asked to mutually acknowledge each other’s evidence and to ensure that national contact tracing apps are interoperable across the block to ensure that as much travel as possible can continue wherever possible.
Of the 19 countries that are developing applications, only three (Ireland, Italy and Germany) have applications that can be connected to each other’s national systems.
Additional information: Tony Connelly
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