The Commission has adopted a proposal for a €3 billion macro-financial assistance (MFA) package to ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners to help them to limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The proposal comes on top of the Team Europe strategy, the EU’s robust and targeted response to support partner countries’ efforts in tackling…
The European Commission has published guidance on the development of new apps that support the fight against coronavirus in relation to data protection. The development of such apps and their take up by citizens can have a significant impact on the treatment of the virus and can play an important role in the strategy to…
By Dr. CHEN Shih-chung The threat of emerging infectious diseases to global health and the economy, trade, and tourism has never abated. Pandemics can spread rapidly around the world because of the ease of international transportation. Among the most salient examples are the Spanish flu of 1918, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak of…
Parliament approved €3.08 billion in EU aid on Friday including more tests, help for doctors and nurses to care for the sick. The EU funds should directly support healthcare systems in EU member states in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The initiative should allow the EU to buy urgent medical supplies, such as masks…
European Parliament Leaders issued the following statement this morning. “The pandemic knows no borders. Our defences against the virus are only as strong as those of the weakest countries.” “We, in our capacity as the Chairs of Parliament’s bodies responsible for EU foreign policy and action, fully support all the efforts of the EU institutions…
To prevent shortages or delays in getting key medical devices on the market, Parliament has decided to postpone the application of the Medical Devices Regulation. Parliament adopted the Commission proposal last Friday, by urgent procedure with 693 votes to 1 and 2 abstentions, allowing the application of the MDR to be postponed by one year…
In what the EU calls an unprecedented repatriation effort, the EU has managed to bring home over half a million of its citizens who were affected by coronavirus travel restrictions across the world. At the beginning of the outbreak, around 600,000 EU citizens declared themselves stranded outside the EU. Most of them in the Asia-Pacific…
By Luca Jahier, President of the European Economic and Social CommitteeStrong support to the European Commission and the European Parliament: EUCO cannot fail! Ahead of the Heads of state and government Council meeting next week and in the light of the solid package of measures proposed on 9 April by the Eurogroup to support the…
The following is the full text of the speech of Ursula von der Leyen to the European Parliament last week. There are no words that can do justice to Europe’s pain or to all those suffering across the world. We think and we pray for all of the families in mourning. And we promise to…
The European Commission has published guidelines to support Member States in their waste management in these difficult times of coronavirus. The continuity in providing those services also during the coronavirus crisis is crucial for our health, for the environment, and for the economy. Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said: “In this unprecedented crisis, we…
