Coronavirus: EU action, vaccines, Team Europe support, disinformation, repatriation and solidarity stories

Indeed, I think that this is a symbol today for the new partnership we have embarked on. And we have been, indeed, talking a lot about producing mRNA vaccines in Africa. But I think that this goes far beyond. This is mRNA technology designed in Africa, led by Africa, and owned by Africa, with the support of Team Europe. And indeed, we are so deeply convinced of the potential you, dear Cyril, were just describing, that, from the very first moment on, we have backed this initiative without any hesitation, and teamed up with you and the WHO to set up this technology transfer hub. I think that the emphasis has to be on ‘technology transfer'.

It has only been nine months since we first proposed, in Paris, the idea to bring vaccine production to Africa. Today, that simple but ground-breaking idea is seeing the light in the form of this state-of-the-art BioNTech container factory, like the one on display today.

In the COVID-19 Global Action Meeting, convened by US Secretary of State Blinken and gathering the EU, represented by Commissioner Urpilainen, and other partner countries, participants discussed yesterday a 'COVID-19 Global Action Plan'.

Senior European Commission officials met yesterday with senior White House and other U.S. government officials on progress and next steps towards achieving the US-EU Agenda for Beating the Global Pandemic Vaccinating the World, Saving Lives Now, and Building Back Better Health Security. Led by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's Head of Cabinet Björn Seibert, and US Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer, both sides agreed on the importance of the Transatlantic partnership and leadership to end the pandemic and strengthen global health security in the long term.

Today, the Commission adopted a report on the EU Digital COVID Certificate and its implementation across the EU. The report shows that the EU certificate has been a crucial element in Europe's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 591 million certificates generated.

The Draft Amending Budget is a legislative proposal to update the agreed EU budget for the current year and make sure it better responds to immediate needs and recent political developments in line with the EU priorities.

Following a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries, special administrative regions and other entities and territorial authorities for which travel restrictions should be lifted. In particular, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates were added to the list.

In the margins of the G20 Ministerial event on 30 June in Brindisi, an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge flight, co-organised also with Italy and Portugal, will depart to Mozambique, carrying 15 tonnes of life-saving cargo addressing pressing humanitarian needs.

The European Union is helping Norway to deliver over 180,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Kosovo, following Kosovo's request for assistance via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The Commission coordinates and finances up to 75% of the costs for transporting the assistance.

Today, the EU has submitted its proposal seeking the commitment of World Trade Organization (WTO) members for a multilateral trade action plan to expand the production of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, and ensure universal and fair access. With this proposal to the WTO, divided in two communications, the EU underlines the WTO's central role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and urges fellow WTO members to agree on a set of commitments, including on intellectual property rights.

The EU Digital COVID Certificate (formerly called Digital Green Certificate) will facilitate safe free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic within the EU. It will serve as proof that a person was vaccinated against COVID-19, received a negative test result or recovered from COVID-19. The certificate can be used across all EU Member States as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Contacts are also ongoing to enable its use with Switzerland. The Commission is working to make sure that the certificates can be compatible with systems in other countries outside the EU.

The European Commission, on behalf of the EU, has today made further disbursements under its COVID-19 Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) package to Tunisia, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The disbursements of €300 million to Tunisia, €50 million to Kosovo, €30 million to Montenegro and €80 million to North Macedonia are part of the €3 billion MFA package agreed in May 2020 to help ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners mitigate the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today's disbursements demonstrate the EU's solidarity with our partners at a time of unprecedented crisis.

Leaders of the G20 committed today to a series of actions to accelerate the end of the COVID-19 crisis everywhere and better prepare for future pandemics, at a summit co-hosted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, as G20 chair.

The Commission welcomes today's provisional political agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the Regulation governing the EU Digital COVID Certificate. This means that the certificate (previously called the Digital Green Certificate) is well on track to be ready end of June, as planned.

An aircraft from Spain carrying urgently needed oxygen cylinders and concentrators, ventilators and rapid antigen tests arrived in Nepal today, following the country's request for support for EU assistance to help contain its rapid surge in COVID-19 infections.

The Council today adopted an amending recommendation on the temporary restriction on non-essential travel into the EU. This amendment responds to the ongoing vaccination campaigns by introducing certain waivers for vaccinated persons and easing the criteria to lift restrictions for third countries. At the same time, it takes into account the possible risks posed by new variants by setting out an emergency brake mechanism to quickly react to the emergence of a variant of interest or concern in a third country.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today announced a Team Europe initiative in support of Africa's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as she joined global leaders at the Summit on Financing African Economies hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Working with African Partners, the initiative will mobilise substantial financing and technical expertise from the European Union and its Member States, under a Team Europe approach, to address key bottlenecks that hold back young entrepreneurs and small business owners across Africa from starting or expanding their businesses.

The Commission calls on EU Member States to take coordinated action to further restrict travel from India on a temporary basis, with a view to limiting the spread of the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India. This follows a proposal of the World Health Organisation on 10 May 2021 to change the classification of that variant from “variant of interest” to “variant of concern”. It is important to limit to the strict minimum the categories of travellers that can travel from India for essential reasons and to subject those who may still travel from India to strict testing and quarantine arrangements.

The European Commission and Austria are announcing today the conclusion of agreements for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for the Western Balkans. The 651,000 BioNTech/Pfizer doses are funded by the European Commission and will be shared with the facilitation of Austria. The first delivery to all the partners in the region is due in May, with regular tranches to continue until August.

One year ago today, the European Commission and the High Representative set out plans for a targeted EU response to support partner countries' efforts in tackling the Coronavirus pandemic combining resources from the EU, its Member States and European financial institutions, as ‘Team Europe'. By 1 January 2021, Team Europe had already supported partner countries around the world with more than €26 billion, 65% of the overall response package that now stands at over €40 billion and exceeding the original €20 billion pledged.

The Commission is mobilising €123 million from Horizon Europe, the new EU research and innovation programme, for urgent research into coronavirus variants. This first emergency funding under Horizon Europe adds to a range of EU-funded research and innovation actions to fight the coronavirus and contributes to the Commission's overall action to prevent, mitigate and respond to the impact of coronavirus variants, in line with the new European bio-defence preparedness plan HERA Incubator.

The European Commission has announced today €17 million in humanitarian aid to address the needs of the most vulnerable in Haiti and the Caribbean, which have been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, a consignment of 21,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccines is being delivered to Moldova from Romania to support the country's response to the pandemic. This delivery follows Moldova's request for vaccines through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, to which Romania has responded rapidly with this offer.

The Council today approved conclusions reaffirming the EU’s commitment to human rights in the context of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced today €100 million in humanitarian assistance to support the rollout of vaccination campaigns in Africa, which are spearheaded by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

The European Union has announced today an additional €500 million for the COVAX Facility, doubling its contribution to date for the global initiative that is leading efforts to secure fair and equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in low and middle-income countries.

The European Union in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a new regional project worth over €7 million to support safe and effective vaccination of the populations across the Western Balkans.

Today, the European Commission approved a second contract with the pharmaceutical company Moderna, which provides for an additional purchase of 300 million doses (150 million in 2021 and an option to purchase an additional 150 million in 2022) on behalf of all EU Member States. The new contract also provides for the possibility to donate the vaccine to lower and middle-income countries or to re-direct it to other European countries.

The EU is working to turn its €750 billion recovery package into action. The Council today adopted a regulation establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which lies at the heart of the EU’s recovery plan. It will make €672.5 billion in grants and loans available for public investment and reforms in the 27 member states to help them address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, to foster the green and digital transitions and to build resilient and inclusive societies.

Today, the EU in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a new regional programme worth over €40 million to provide critical assistance to ensure local readiness and preparedness for safe and effective vaccination of the population in the six Eastern Partnership countries.

The Council today adopted a recommendation amending the recommendation on the temporary restriction on non-essential travel into the EU and the possible lifting of such restriction.

The Council today adopted a recommendation amending the recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restrictions of free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted. Based on the criteria and conditions set out in the recommendation, as from 28 January member states should gradually lift the travel restrictions at the external borders for residents of the following third countries: Australia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and China, subject to confirmation of reciprocity.

Today, the European Commission concluded exploratory talks with the pharmaceutical company Valneva with a view to purchasing its potential vaccine against COVID-19. The envisaged contract with Valneva would provide for the possibility for all EU Member States to purchase together 30 million doses, and they could further purchase up to 30 million more doses.

The European Commission today proposed to the EU Member States to purchase an additional 200 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by BioNTech and Pfizer, with the option to acquire another 100 million doses.

Today, the European Commission has granted a conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) for the COVID‑19 vaccine developed by Moderna, the second COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the EU. This authorisation follows a positive scientific recommendation based on a thorough assessment of the safety, effectiveness and quality of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and is endorsed by the Member States.

Today, the European Commission adopted a package of €70 million under the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA II) to help fund the access of Western Balkans partners to COVID-19 vaccines procured by EU Member States.

Today, the European Commission has granted a conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) for the COVID‑19 vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, making it the first COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the EU. This authorisation follows a positive scientific recommendation based on a thorough assessment of the safety, effectiveness and quality of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and is endorsed by the Member States.

The European Commission today announced the mobilisation of €84.26 million in support of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in four African countries: Benin, Central African Republic, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Following a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted. As stipulated in the Council recommendation, this list will continue to be reviewed regularly and, as the case may be, updated.

The Council today adopted conclusions which call for further enhanced responses at EU level to counter hybrid threats, including disinformation, and strengthening resilience. The Council notes that new technologies and crises, such as the ongoing pandemic, offer opportunities for hostile actors to expand their interference activities. These pose an additional challenge for the member states and the EU institutions, besides the crisis itself.

Today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will officially launch the Digital4Development (D4D) Hub in the presence of representatives from the five Hub-founding EU Member States, under the German EU Council Presidency. The platform gathers key stakeholders from EU Member States, private sector, civil society and financial institutions in a Team Europe spirit with several objectives: scaling up investments in the digital transformation of partner countries; promoting a comprehensive values-based rulebook for a digital economy and society worldwide; and promote a stronger and more strategic EU engagement in international digital partnerships.

As part of Team Europe's global response to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union announced today a new €20 million programme to support the preparedness and response capacities of our partners in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The European Commission further expanded its Guidance Note on how COVID-19-related humanitarian aid can be provided to countries and areas around the world that are subject to EU restrictive measures (sanctions). This Guidance now also has a self-standing chapter on Nicaragua.

Dans le cadre de sa coopération avec le Sahel, l'Union européenne a annoncé aujourd'hui le déboursement d'un appui budgétaire de 92 millions d'euros pour renforcer la réponse du Burkina Faso, de la Mauritanie, du Niger et du Tchad à la propagation du coronavirus. Il s'agit d'offrir des soins de santé de qualité à la population et réduire les répercussions économiques et sociales de la pandémie.

Today, the European Union disbursed €25 million of budget support for The Gambia's response to the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the Team Europe global package, these funds contribute to the recovery from the pandemic and also support the transition towards democracy and medium-term development objectives.

The European Council assessed the current epidemiological situation, which is unprecedented and gives rise to very serious concern.

As Europe learns to live with the pandemic, the development and swift global deployment of safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 remains an essential element in the eventual solution to the public health crisis.

The Commission has signed a joint procurement framework contract with the pharmaceutical company Gilead for the supply of up to 500,000 treatment courses of Veklury, the brand name for Remdesivir, and the opportunity to increase supply beyond the 500,000 treatment courses.

Today, the European Commission approved a third contract with a pharmaceutical company, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

The European Commission has allocated additional €10 million in humanitarian aid to support the most vulnerable people in eastern Ukraine ahead of the upcoming winter and in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This brings EU humanitarian funding for eastern Ukraine in 2020 to €23 million.

Today, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi and the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia, signed two financing agreements worth €129 million to assist Georgia in coping with the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on the country's economy.

On 17 June, the European Commission presented a European strategy to accelerate the development, manufacturing and deployment of vaccines against COVID-19. The EU Vaccines Strategy intends to ensure the production in Europe of qualitative, safe and efficacious vaccines, and to secure swift access to them for Member States and their populations. Moreover, the Strategy reflects the global solidarity effort and ensures equitable access to an affordable vaccine as early as possible.

Today, the European Commission confirmed its participation in the COVAX Facility for equitable access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines, following its expression of interest on 31 August and its announcement of a contribution of €400 million.

Today, the Council agreed to add €6.2 billion to the EU 2020 budget to address the impact of the COVID-19-crisis and to fund inter alia the vaccine strategy. The Council adopted draft amending budget No 8 for 2020 by written procedure.

As part of the EU's global coronavirus response, an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge operation consisting of three flights to Lima, Peru this week is delivering a total of more than 4 tonnes of life-saving materials to humanitarian organisations active in the country. At the same time, the EU has announced €30.5 million in humanitarian assistance to support the most vulnerable in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2020.

Today, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, launched and co-hosted the first meeting of the High Level Facilitation Council, leading the work of the global collaborative framework Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (the ACT-A) to speed up the development and deployment of vaccines, tests and treatments against COVID-19, as well as to improve health systems.

The European Commission has today concluded exploratory talks with BioNTech-Pfizer to purchase a potential vaccine against COVID-19. BioNTech-Pfizer is the sixth company with which the Commission has concluded talks, following Sanofi-GSK on 31 July, Johnson & Johnson on 13 August, CureVac on 18 August and Moderna on 24 August. The first contract, signed with AstraZeneca, entered into force on 27 August.

The Commission has today adopted a proposal for a Council Recommendation to ensure that any measures taken by Member States that restrict free movement due to the coronavirus pandemic are coordinated and clearly communicated at the EU level.

A flight from the European Union (EU) humanitarian air bridge will land in Abidjan today, carrying medical equipment and PPE for Ivorian health personnel. The shipment includes medical outfits, masks and refrigerators, to protect the people of Côte d'Ivoire and ensure their access to healthcare, as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

Today, the first contract the European Commission has negotiated on behalf of the EU Member States with a pharmaceutical company entered into force following the formal signature between AstraZeneca and the Commission. The contract will allow the purchase of a vaccine against COVID-19 for all the Member States of the EU as well as the donation to lower and middle income countries or the re-direction to other European countries.

The European Commission has presented proposals to the Council for decisions to grant financial support of €81.4 billion to 15 Member States under the SURE instrument. SURE is a crucial element of the EU's comprehensive strategy to protect citizens and mitigate the severely negative socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. It is one of the three safety nets agreed by the European Council to shield workers, businesses and countries.

The European Commission has adopted today a package of proposals that aims to increase trade between the European Union and neighbouring countries in the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) region, thereby contributing to the economic recovery following the coronavirus outbreak.

Following the first review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted. This list will continue to be reviewed and, as the case may be, updated every two weeks.

The Commission on behalf of the EU has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with North Macedonia to pave the way for the disbursement of €80 million in macro-financial assistance (MFA). This is the first MoU signed as part of €3 billion MFA package that the Commission proposed for ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners to help them limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

Today, the Council adopted a regulation which aims to speed up the development and the deployment of a vaccine against COVID-19 in the EU. The act provides for a temporary derogation for clinical trials with such vaccines from the prior environmental risk assessment required in the EU legislation on the deliberate release in the environment and the contained use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Un contrat de 65 milliards GNF (6 millions d’euros) pour financer un projet de riposte contre la Covid-19 et soutenir les populations guinéennes. C’est le deuxième projet dédié spécifiquement à la riposte contre l’épidémie de Covid-19 que l’Union européenne finance en Guinée après celui conclu avec Terre des hommes portant sur 2,5 millions d’euros.

The global pledging summit and concert organised by the Commission and Global Citizen are only one day away. They will bring the world together and mobilise additional funding to develop and universally deploy coronavirus vaccines, tests and treatments.

Today the Commission recommends to Schengen Member States and Schengen Associated States to lift internal border controls by 15 June 2020 and to prolong the temporary restriction on non-essential travel into the EU until 30 June 2020; and sets out an approach to progressively lifting the restriction afterwards.

The coronavirus pandemic has been accompanied by a massive wave of false and misleading information, attempts by foreign actors to influence domestic debates in the EU, breeding on the fertile ground of people’s most basic anxieties and the rapidly changing news cycle. Misleading healthcare information, dangerous hoaxes with false claims conspiracy theories and consumer fraud endanger public health.

Today, the European Commission is announcing a pledge of €300 million to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for the period 2021–2025. It will help immunise 300 million children around the world and finance vaccine stockpiles to shield against outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The Council today adopted a decision to provide up to 3 billion euros of macro-financial assistance to ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners to help them cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today the European Commission announced an additional €50 million in humanitarian aid to help respond to the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs caused by the Coronavirus pandemic globally. The new funding follows increased appeals by humanitarian organisations, including the UN Global Appeal.

“The coronavirus pandemic is impacting every country and region of the world and every aspect of our lives. The pandemic and its socio-economic consequences are having a disproportionate impact on the rights of persons with disabilities such as in terms of equal access to health care, support services, and education.

Representatives of the EU Member States, the Western Balkans and Turkey, the European Commission and the European Central Bank, as well as representatives of the central banks of the Western Balkans and Turkey[1] met for their annual economic policy dialogue[2]. The dialogue aims at preparing the Western Balkans and Turkey for the future participation in the European Semester.

As part of its emergency support package to tackle the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis, the EU is setting up a temporary instrument to help workers keep their jobs during the crisis. EU ambassadors today reached a political agreement on SURE, a temporary scheme which can provide up to €100 billion of loans under favourable terms to member states.

A contact tracing and warning app is voluntarily installed and used to warn users if they have been in proximity for a certain duration to a person who reported to have been tested positive of COVID-19.

The European Commission has published detailed guidance on how coronavirus-related humanitarian aid can be sent to countries and areas around the world that are subject to EU sanctions.

The European Commission has set up an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge to transport humanitarian workers and emergency supplies for the coronavirus response to some of most critical areas around the world.

EU ambassadors today endorsed a Commission proposal to provide up to 3 billion euros of macro-financial assistance to ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners to help them cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic impacts every country and region of the world and every aspect of our lives. It has reminded us how interconnected we are. Nobody will be safe in any country as long as the pandemic rages in different parts of the world. Respect for all human rights must remain at the heart of fighting the pandemic and supporting the global recovery.

I am very proud and I am relieved that the start of this very important project was so successful. The world showed extraordinary unity for the common good. And Europe has made a significant contribution. We got EUR 7.4 billion today and – the exchange rate is friendly to us – it is more than USD 8 billion. Of these USD 8 billion, ‘team Europe' – that is the European Union and its Member States – contributed more than EUR 4 billion.

Following last week's delivery to Italy, more batches of FFP2 protective masks are being distributed this weekend to Spain, Italy and Croatia from rescEU - the first ever common European reserve of medical equipment set up last month to help countries affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

On World Press Freedom Day, we pay tribute to the essential role of journalism in upholding online and offline freedom of expression in democratic societies and fostering transparency and accountability. The COVID-19 crisis has brought the importance of the work of the press into sharp relief. In times of uncertainty, more than ever, access to reliable fact-checked information, that is free from undue interference and influence, is crucial and contributes to a more resilient society. It is a matter of concern that the COVID-19 pandemic is being used in some countries as a pretext for imposing undue restrictions on freedom of the press.

The Council today adopted conclusions stating the EU's determination to stand by the people of South Sudan in their quest for peace and prosperity, and in facing the consequences of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which risks having far-reaching humanitarian and economic consequences on the newfound stability of the country.

Today, the European Commission is proposing €279 million in financial support for Portugal, Spain, Italy and Austria, to provide relief to the population of several regions in these four countries hit by natural disasters in 2019. This funding comes on top of the €800 million for 2020 available under the EU Solidarity Fund.

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads around the world, the European Union and its Member States have observed cyber threats and malicious cyber activities targeting essential operators in Member States and their international partners, including in the healthcare sector. Since the beginning of the pandemic, significant phishing and malware distribution campaigns, scanning activities and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks have been detected, some affecting critical infrastructures that are essential to managing this crisis.

The European Commission received its first preliminary application for financial support from the EU Solidarity Fund from Italy to address the coronavirus outbreak and its effects. Italy is expected to submit further details in the weeks to come.

As part of its plan to support partner countries around the globe, the European Union (EU) is mobilising €350 million to fight against the spread of the coronavirus and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the ASEAN region.

The European Union is joining forces with global partners to kick-start a pledging effort – the Coronavirus Global Response – starting on 4 May 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) and global health organisations have launched a joint call for action to develop fast and equitable access to safe, quality, effective and affordable diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines against coronavirus.

The coronavirus pandemic affects practically every country in the world. Past experiences have shown that even with the availability of effective tools at the world's disposal, some are protected, while others are not. This inequity is unacceptable – all tools to address the pandemic must be available to all.

I am proud of sharing the screen today with our partners worldwide, to deliver a message of hope. Hope that we can defeat coronavirus together. And that we can go back to our normal lives, sooner rather than later.

The Council today adopted new rules intended to minimise the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the most deprived EU citizens. The amendments to the regulation on the fund for aid to the most deprived (FEAD) will make it easier for member states, partner organisations and other parties involved to access the fund and protect their staff involved in distributing the aid. Around 13 million EU citizens benefit from the fund each year. The new rules are expected to enter into force by the end of the week.

The European Commission welcomes the adoption by the European Parliament and the Council of the proposal to postpone by one year the date of application of the Medical Devices Regulation. This will allow all key players - Member States, health institutions and economic operators to give priority to the fight against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, forming a key position in the timing of the lifting of confinement measures as Member States return to the road of recovery.

Thank you very much Charles, I can seamlessly follow up on your words. The health situation is by far not fully under control and many Member States have not yet reached the peak. At the same time, we already know that the scale, the speed and the impact of the economic crisis is unprecedented in modern times.

I would first like to thank all our health workers, doctors and researchers who are working around the clock to save lives. I would also like to offer words of support to those who are ill and are fighting the virus as we speak. This pandemic is putting our societies under serious strain. The well-being of each EU member state depends on the well-being of the whole of the EU.

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 coronavirus pandemic. It represents an important demonstration of the EU's solidarity with these countries at a time of unprecedented crisis.

The EU is taking further urgent measures to make the best use of cohesion policy money to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council today adopted a second legislative act in less than a month amending the rules on the use of EU structural funds, which underpin EU cohesion policy. These changes allow member states to refocus resources on crisis-related operations.

Annual report on acute food security and nutrition published today JOINT EU / FAO / OCHA / UNICEF / USAID / WFP NEWS RELEASE Today an international alliance of UN, governmental, and nongovernmental agencies working to address the root causes of extreme hunger have released a new edition of their annual Global Report on Food Crises.

t is crucial that banks continue financing households and corporates, including SMEs experiencing temporary difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, making full use of the flexibility provided for in the prudential and accounting framework, is essential at a time when sufficient financing to cover financial pressures is vital for the economy.

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 each other that we will tell their stories and honour their lives and their legacies.

As the conflict in eastern Ukraine enters seventh year, the European Commission announces today €13 million to support the most vulnerable people affected by the ongoing hostilities. At the same time, EU funded humanitarian projects will also help address the coronavirus outbreak.

The EU is taking steps to protect key features of the multilateral trading system. The Council today gave the go-ahead to the multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement (MPIA), a new system that will allow the EU, together with other participating WTO members, to overcome the current paralysis of the WTO’s Appellate Body and solve trade disputes amongst themselves.

Today, the Commission, in cooperation with the President of the European Council, has put forward a European roadmap to phase-out the containment measures due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The EU is making available almost all the remaining money from this year's budget to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes an unprecedented challenge with very severe socio-economic consequences. We are committed to do everything necessary to meet this challenge in a spirit of solidarity.

EU ambassadors today agreed amendments to the regulation on the fund for aid to the most deprived (FEAD). These amendments are intended to minimise the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the most deprived. They will make it easier for member states, partner organisations and other parties involved to access the fund and protect their staff involved in distributing the aid. Around 13 million EU citizens benefit from the fund each year.

The EU is taking further measures to enable cohesion policy money to be focused on tackling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. EU ambassadors today agreed the Council’s position on a second package of measures in less than a month aimed at freeing up more money from EU structural funds for crisis-related operations. Given the unprecedented challenges facing member states, the proposed changes were endorsed without amendment in order to speed up the legislative process.

A team of European doctors and nurses from Romania and Norway, deployed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, is being immediately dispatched to Milan and Bergamo to help Italian medical staff working to battle the coronavirus. Austria has also offered over 3,000 litres of disinfectant to Italy via the Mechanism. The Commission will coordinate and co-finance this European assistance.

The EU has put international cooperation at the forefront of its response to the Coronavirus. Following an agreement reached between President von der Leyen and Premier Li Keqiang last month, a donation of protective equipment from China to the European Union has now arrived in Rome, Italy.

The European Union strongly supports the appeal by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for an immediate global ceasefire in light of the global coronavirus pandemic.

"We are facing an info-demic with dangerous impact on public health. We’ll continue to tackle disinformation, and coordinate and intensify our efforts with the Member States and with social media platforms" - Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

The Commission has today decided to approve requests from Member States and the UK to temporarily waive customs duties and VAT on the import of medical devices, and protective equipment, from third countries in order to help in the fight against coronavirus. This will make it easier financially to get the medical equipment that doctors, nurses and patients desperately need.

Le Monde - Le Haut représentant pour la politique étrangère et de sécurité de l’Union européenne souligne dans une tribune au « Monde » les trois défis du Covid-19, sanitaire, économique, géopolitique au projet européen

The European Commission has found a Danish State loan facility of up to DKK 1.5 billion (approx. €200 million) in support of the Travel Guarantee Fund (“Rejsegarantifonden”) to be in line with EU State aid rules. The loan was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework to support the economy in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak adopted by the Commission on 19 March 2020.

The Commission wants to directly support the healthcare systems of EU Member States in their fights against the coronavirus pandemic through measures that can best be taken at EU level. For this purpose and based on the solidarity principle, the Commission will complement in a fast, flexible and direct way the ongoing efforts at national level.

The new instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) is designed to help protect jobs and workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic. It will provide financial assistance, in the form of loans granted on favourable terms from the EU to Member States, of up to €100 billion in total.

The first package of measures of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative concentrated on the immediate mobilisation of structural funds, to allow for a prompt response to the crisis. In this regard, a number of very important changes have been introduced that extend the scope of support of the Funds, provide immediate liquidity and give flexibility in programme amendments.

The EU is taking swift action to make available money to help tackle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EU will suspend until 24 October 2020 the airport slot requirements which oblige airlines to use at least 80% of their take-off and landing slots in order to keep them the following year. The waiver adopted by the Council today is designed to help air carriers cope with the drastic drop in air traffic caused by the Coronavirus crisis.

The European Council tasked the Eurogroup to come up with proposals within the next weeks. The Commission will participate in these discussions and stands ready to assist, if supported by the Eurogroup. This is required since the fiscal space for new instruments is limited as we are in the last year of the MFF.

The main topic of the video conference was the exchange of views between the EU ministers and representatives of the Member States on the new package of specific Cohesion Policy measures the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII) as an integral part of the European Coordinated Response to mitigate the economic consequences of coronavirus outbreak.

Today, the European Commission has proposed to make €75 million from the EU budget available to help Member States repatriate EU nationals and to increase the budget of the RescEU medical stockpile.

The EU and 15 other members of the WTO today decided on an arrangement that will allow them to bring appeals and solve trade disputes among them despite the current paralysis of the WTO Appellate Body.

Following the informal video conference on 26 March 2020, the members of the European Council adopted a statement on the EU actions in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, EU enlargement, the earthquake in Croatia and the situation at the EU's external borders.

I would firstly like to thank all those of you who have made this extraordinary session possible under such exceptional circumstances. It is hard to believe quite how much the world has changed since we last met. In the blink of an eye, a virus which emerged on the other side of the world has become a deadly pandemic with tragic consequences for us here in Europe too.

High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell participated in a G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting that took place via video-teleconference call on Wednesday, 25 March.

The 17 March videoconference of the Members of the European Council endorsed the 16 March statement of the Eurogroup and invited the Eurogroup to continuously and closely monitor economic and financial developments and to adopt without delay a coordinated policy response to the rapidly evolving situation. To this end, I convened a videoconference of the Eurogroup and Ministers of non-euro-area Member States on 24 March. I am writing to you to share my personal conclusions.

Video conference of Foreign Affairs Ministers: Remarks by the High Representative Josep Borrell at the press conference

The Council is taking measures to ensure the continuity of its work in the current exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today it agreed on a temporary derogation to its Rules of Procedure to make it easier to take decisions by written procedure.

Today, EU ambassadors agreed the Council's position on two legislative proposals which will free up funds to tackle the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. Given the urgency of the situation, both proposals were approved without amendments.

Today 17 March, Members of the European Council held a videoconference on COVID 19 in order to follow up on previous conclusions of 10 March 2020 together with the ECB President, the President of the Eurogroup and the High Representative.

Following up on the videoconference on 10 March 2020 between European Council Members, as well as the ECB President, the Eurogroup President and the High Representative, the Eurogroup held an in-depth discussion today, together with non-Euro Area Members, on how to respond to the extraordinary human and economic crisis caused by the Corona virus.