[ad_1]
OLIVIER HOSLET via Getty Images
“The decision to relax the anti-contagion measures this summer was not always accompanied by decisions that would build a sufficient response” to the covid. Amid a second wave of pandemic sweeping across Europe, the European Commission is trying to take action with a new communication to member states from President Ursula von der Leyen. Among the new measures: 100 million euros for the purchase of rapid tests and extension of the suspension of customs duties on medical equipment and VAT on vaccines, when available. It is clear that so far not everything has been done to prevent the spread of infections, it is admitted in the text presented today.
“Urgent measures are needed at national and European level – writes the Commission – stronger measures can avoid the human and economic costs of the coming months”.
“We relaxed the measures too soon”: dramatic are the words of von der Leyen, who in the virtual press conference is accompanied by the Belgian epidemiologist Peter Piot, known for his research on Ebola and AIDS. Since the start of the pandemic, this is the first time that the President of the Commission has decided to hold a press conference with a virus expert.
“The situation is very serious – continues von der Leyen – We expect an increase in infections in the coming weeks. Unlike last spring, this time no country was spared. And now we have two enemies: the virus and fatigue linked to containment measures. I understand that people are tired, for months everyone has been sacrificing themselves, they pay a high price, many suffer psychologically from social isolation but we cannot give up: the situation is very serious, but we will still be able to do it if everyone takes their part . responsibility”.
The president calls on the Member States to work together towards tomorrow’s summit between the 27 EU leaders: “Bold decisions taken now will help us save lives and protect our livelihoods.” ‘No one saves himself’, the motto that accompanied the entire phase of the development of the anti-crisis package ‘The next generation of the EU’, is now applied to the epidemiological emergency: “No Member State will be saved if the others are not saved “, says the president. And that is why” we have to make decisions. Today we present more measures to combat the virus: strengthening access to rapid tests, vaccination campaigns to facilitate the necessary travel. “
In the new communication from the European Commission it is observed that up to now the European institutions have underestimated the epidemiological part, favoring that of economic anti-crisis measures. This is a bit like what the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, wrote yesterday in his invitation letter to the 27 European leaders for tomorrow’s summit on the new pandemic emergency.
Therefore, the Commission now proposes to increase the mattresses, including the rapid ones for which the Palazzo Berlaymont institution has decided to mobilize “100 million euros extracted from the ‘Emergency and support instrument’ (Esi)”, Acquire the doses and distribute them to In addition, the Commission calls for a standard of legitimacy for testing at European level.
States should improve communication, share data on tampons, monitoring and the capacity of their health system in a single platform, that of the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC). They should also facilitate discussion between epidemiologists and government consultants at the European level to coordinate national options. And then the follow-up apps: there are many for each Member State and they don’t talk to each other, that’s not good.
Regarding vaccines, the countries of the Union should establish strategies to be ready at the right time, when the doses are available: something that will not happen before the middle of next year (this is the estimate that is also made here in Brussels ). The Commission also suggests the extension of the suspension of customs duties and VAT on medical equipment from non-EU countries until April 2021 and the VAT rebate on anti-Covid vaccines and the tampon kit.
Thanks to the contracts signed in recent months, von der Leyen says, “the EU will be able to count between 20 and 50 million doses of the vaccine per month from April. In the best of cases -explains the German- the EU will be able to vaccinate up to 700 million people “and can thus” make donations to the countries most in need. ”
Travel: States must develop a common protocol on air travel, establish common rules on quarantine, launch the so-called ‘Digital Passenger Tracking Module’, ensure that those traveling for business or family reasons can and eventually will be able to do so . use the ‘Re-Open Eu’ app, the interactive map of anti-Covid travel restrictions in Europe, until now only accessible from a PC. The app should be ready in the next few weeks.
Finally, ensure the so-called ‘green lanes’, the corridors that facilitate the passage of goods between countries by land and by air.
“The increase in Covid infections in Europe is very alarming,” says Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. “Immediate and decisive action is needed for Europe to protect lives and livelihoods, ease pressure on health systems and control the spread of the virus. Next month we will present the first step towards a European Health Union. In the meantime, Member States must improve cooperation and data sharing. Only by showing true European solidarity and working together can we overcome this crisis. Together we are strong “.
For Piot there are several hopes, but all with limitations: “First: that by a miracle the virus becomes innuocuous but for now it doesn’t change that much. Second: herd immunity, from the series we infect young people. But sadly, we must not forget that in Europe, even in the most affected cities, more than 85% of people are still infected. Third: prolonged lockdowns lead to poverty. The only thing is the vaccine: there are many in process, all are doing the impossible. But even the vaccine is not a panacea. “
[ad_2]
