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President, Honourable Members,
We are witnessing a worryingly rapid rising number of COVID-19 cases across the EU. Europe is now in the middle of yet another wave and this is of serious concern to us all – and I want to thank this house for this timely discussion.
I would like to start by sending a very clear message about the role of vaccines – because the evidence is clear: vaccination works and it remains the most effective tool we have to keep people safe. There are no doubts that our vaccines are effective against severe disease, including hospitalisation and loss of life.
Even with the dominant Delta variant, with its increased transmissibility and severity, deaths continue to be prevented thanks to the effective vaccines authorised for use in the EU.
This is backed by all our scientific evidence.
Numerous people across the EU – young and old – would have been in a much worse off situation had it not been for the record rollout of vaccination programmes against COVID-19.
But we are now facing a pandemic mainly driven by the unvaccinated.
And on top of that, the rising numbers are unfortunately fuelling vaccine hesitancy.
We all need to take a firm stand against this. And the Honourable Members of this Parliament can play an important role in this effort.
Vaccination continues to be a key weapon in our armoury. But at the same time, until sufficiently high vaccination rates have been reached and the situation is under control, important non-pharmaceutical interventions need to remain in place where needed.
We have already reached out to those countries most severely affected, who are also have the lowest vaccine uptake. We are offering direct support, together with ECDC, to help them combat misinformation and boost vaccine uptake, and welcome your help and collaboration in your countries.
We are also providing urgent support through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism for those under most pressure.
Many Member States have started to re-introduce certain restrictive measures, relying often on the EU Digital COVID Certificate to allow for safe access to public areas.
More than that, the EU Digital COVID Certificate has been the meeting point at which Member States and the Commission have collaborated and delivered the largest interoperable digital COVID certificate system in the world.
We need to avoid fragmentation, and for this strong coordination is key. This is why we are currently preparing an update of the Council Recommendations related to free movement within the EU.
The proposal, to be adopted this week, will promote and acknowledge the important role of EU Digital COVID Certificate that travellers nowadays carry.
We will also update the recommendation on travel into the EU from around the world.
Honourable Members,
Close collaboration and coordination are absolutely essential – at every step of this journey. Whilst we have been making our utmost efforts since the outset of this pandemic, we cannot impose coordination in an area where the competence lies manly with Member States. In the area of health it takes not only two to tango, it takes 27.
In the context of the European Health Union, we have proposed a stronger Health Security Committee. This body has played a crucial role in this pandemic but it need to be strengthened to better support a common EU-level response and enhanced coordination of risk communication even more.
We need a rapid agreement on those proposals. So I am glad that the negotiations of the new regulation on cross-border health threats kicked-off last week. We have high expectations for this regulation so let’s ensure that our ambition remains intact through the negotiations.
It is together that we can ensure that the EU is better prepared for the future. The Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) was set up with this very aim in mind.
And it is already working to realise this goal. HERA now manages all joint procurements of therapeutics and is working with companies and countries participating in the Joint Procurement Agreement to ensure equal access to promising therapeutics.
Let me conclude by stressing an important point.
We are pro-actively supporting and coordinating Member States’ response across different areas – from emergency relief to free movement.
However, we cannot have a strong European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, or a strong HERA, without a strong EU Health Security Framework.
We need to reach political agreement on all the European Health Union proposals as soon as possible.
That is the surest way to build a Union that is better prepared, more resilient, and more responsive in the face of future crises.
