BRUSSELS (AP) – EU leaders agree that borders should remain open and have assessed several measures to counter the spread of coronavirus variants during a video summit on Thursday, while the bloc’s top disease control official he said urgent action was needed to prevent a new wave of hospitalizations and deaths.
Expressing great concern about the virus’s mutations, the 27 leaders looked at additional restrictions at the border, such as limits for all non-essential travel, better tracking of mutations and improved coordination of blockages.
Although they are concerned that another wave of deaths in the EU was imminent, they could not immediately agree on whether or not to stop non-essential travel.
“It is very important not to travel, but you cannot immediately apply this legally,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said after the conference.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has stressed the importance of keeping borders open to ensure that goods continue to run smoothly, while introducing measures “that keep us all safe”.
She said leaders had discussed a proposal to introduce new cross-border “dark red areas” where infection rates are particularly high and where all non-essential travel should be discouraged. Travelers in these areas may be required to pass tests prior to departure and be placed in solitary confinement upon arrival at another location. Von der Leyen said the commission would make specific recommendations to member states in the coming days.
Some 400,000 EU citizens have died from COVID-19-related causes since the beginning of the pandemic, and the head of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Andrea Ammon, said that “an increasing number of infections will lead to hospitalization higher and death rates in all age groups, especially for those in older age groups. ”
In a study published just before the summit, ECDC warned of the high dangers of new variants, such as those starting in the UK, Brazil and South Africa. Ammon said that “Member States are also encouraged to speed up the vaccination of high-risk groups and prepare the healthcare system for high demand”.
Some EU countries have already tightened restrictions by imposing stricter crooks and stricter mask requirements in public transport and shops. Measures recommended by the ECDC include a ban on non-essential travel and an acceleration of vaccinations.
“Most have said that free movement must survive, but that it is vital to ask not to travel,” Rutte said. “It is essential to discourage travel in Europe as much as possible. Don’t travel, just don’t travel. ”
Echoing ECDC advice, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has proposed a temporary ban on non-essential travel during the February school holidays.
In view of the critical health situation, the Commission also called on the Member States, before the meeting, to speed up vaccination, to ensure that at least 80% of those over 80 are vaccinated by March. and that 70% of the adult population in the entire block is protected by the end of the summer.
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, said there was “global and clear support for this proposal”.
But since the EU does not expect vaccines to be ready for mass distribution before April, leaders should meanwhile find effective ways to contain the new variants. The Commission considers that better tracking of virus mutations with genomic sequencing, combined with increased use of rapid antigen tests, will be crucial.
The EU Commission said several EU countries test less than 1% of the samples. He proposed an “urgent” increase in genome sequencing to at least 5% of the positive test results and would ideally see this figure reach 10% to detect variations. Member States unanimously agreed on Thursday on a common framework for the use of rapid antigen testing and mutual recognition of PCR test results across the entire 450 million population.
Discussions also focused on stopping vaccine deliveries after Pfizer announced a temporary cut last week that affected all EU countries. The EU has concluded six vaccination contracts for more than 2 billion doses, but only Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been approved for use so far.
The EU now expects Pfizer to keep the drop in deliveries limited to this week, while resuming full distribution again next week, with the resulting arrears set in February.
The leaders also weighed a Greek proposal to issue vaccination certificates to facilitate the trip. But, having doubts about whether vaccinated people could continue to be contagious and only a small part of the EU population already vaccinated, agreed that it was too early to decide whether vaccination certificates should be considered as travel documents.
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Associated Press writer Geir Moulson from Berlin contributed to the report.
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