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Document 52020XG0220(01)
COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS ON COVID-19 2020/C 57/04
COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS ON COVID-19 2020/C 57/04
COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS ON COVID-19 2020/C 57/04
ST/6038/2020/INIT
IO C 57, 20.2.2020, p. 4–7
(BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)
20.2.2020 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
C 57/4 |
COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS ON COVID-19
(2020/C 57/04)
The Council of the European Union met today to take stock of the implications of the outbreak of human cases of COVID-19, which started in China last December and was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 30 January 2020 (1).
The Council welcomes the effective EU response by the Member States, the Commission, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Health Security Committee (HSC), and the international response to the threat of a possible pandemic outbreak and calls for continued and increased co-operation at EU and international levels.
Being aware that the epidemiological situation is still evolving, the EU and its Member States should continue to act decisively in coordination to tackle the threat caused by COVID-19 and to prevent further transmission of the 2019-nCoV virus causing it into and within the EU. To that end, the Council of the European Union has adopted the following conclusions:
‘THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
1. |
RECOGNISES that outbreaks of new communicable diseases like COVID-19 are potentially global threats to public health, in particular because of the high volumes and frequency of international travel in a globalised world; |
2. |
NOTES that the confirmed cases of COVID-19 are caused by a virus which is capable of human-to-human transmission; |
3. |
TAKES NOTE of the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan on 2019-nCoV issued by WHO on 3 February 2020 (2), which aims to stop further transmission of the 2019-nCoV virus within China and other countries, and to mitigate the impact of the outbreak in all countries and which calls for the mobilisation of funding in support of establishing international coordination and support to operations, scaling up country preparedness and response efforts, and accelerating priority research and innovation; |
4. |
EXPRESSES its solidarity with infected persons all over the world and with the most affected countries, particularly China, and DECLARES its readiness to examine, together with the Commission and in cooperation with WHO and the authorities of these third countries, possible ways and means to provide assistance in the fight against this outbreak; |
5. |
RECALLS that the EU and its Member States coordinate and cooperate closely in the field of health security, by implementing planning and response measures and preparedness planning, as well as by addressing activities concerning business continuity planning, in accordance with Decision No 1082/2013/EU on serious cross-border threats to health (3), and Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) in the field of health emergencies (4); |
6. |
UNDERLINES the importance of the rapid actions taken together with the Commission, in the framework of the WHO International Health Regulations (IHR), through coordination of response measures including contact tracing and risk communication, and through sharing of information on national preventive and preparatory measures within the HSC and the Early Warning and Response System (EWRS), to protect public health; |
7. |
WELCOMES the Resolution on Strengthening Preparedness for Health Emergencies; Implementation of International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), adopted by the WHO Executive Board on 8 February 2020 (5); |
8. |
FURTHER WELCOMES the work already under way in WHO, the Commission, ECDC and the HSC, in particular, on the guidelines on a common case definition, on a common case management, and on information to travellers; |
9. |
STRESSES the importance of the work of ECDC on technical guidance regarding analysis, risk assessment and treatment of infected persons and their contacts, and on the protection of involved health professionals, as well as the work of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on treatments, vaccines and research, the work of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on matters related to public health protection in connection with air travel, and the work of other relevant EU agencies; |
10. |
WELCOMES the swift activation of the EU Integrated Political Crisis Response (IPCR) arrangements (6) in information-sharing mode, and of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (7), as well as the reinforcements of consular assistance in response to the outbreak of COVID-19; |
11. |
RECOGNISES that the effectiveness of national measures taken at EU borders and points of entry to protect public health, including measures already taken by Member States in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak, can be further enhanced through strengthening of the already ongoing coordination between Member States and the Commission, within the framework of WHO recommendations; |
12. |
RECOGNISES that responding to serious cross-border threats to health requires coordinated inter-sectoral action at national, EU and international levels and welcomes the support of the Commission, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and all relevant EU agencies to that end; |
13. |
STRESSES the importance of reinforcing the role of WHO in the management of the outbreak, based, inter alia, on coordinated EU input, particularly to ensure real time exchanges of epidemiological data; |
14. |
UNDERLINES the necessity of developing a coordinated approach with WHO, including exploring voluntary funding possibilities, to support countries with weaker health systems, in accordance with the principle of global solidarity; |
15. |
URGES Member States to act together, in cooperation with the Commission, in a proportionate and appropriate manner in line with WHO recommendations and the advice of ECDC, on the following lines:
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16. |
CALLS UPON the Commission to:
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(1) https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/30-01-2020-statement-on-the-second-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)