The member states opt for a coordinated health approach against COVVI-19. The imposition of tests before takeoff will be “strongly encouraged”. The twenty-seven fear the circulation of a new variant.
by Cédric Vallet (Brussels, Correspondence)
It took several days of hesitation before the European Union (EU) sketches a common health approach to the return of Chinese travelers on its soil. This time, the twenty-seven wanted to grant their violins rather than pursuing a policy of everyone for themselves, which was not without mentioning the chaos of the first weeks of the pandemic in 2020. “These last days have allowed us to converge “, was satisfied on Wednesday January 4, a European diplomat.
Since the lifting of drastic health measures imposed by zero covid policy followed by the Chinese authorities until December 2022, and the announcement of a resumption of trips to the European Union announced for January 8, The member states of the European Union advanced in a dispersed rank in the face of the fear that the circulation of Sars-Cov-2 in China will lead the appearance of new variants that would spread in Europe. Without waiting, Italy, Spain and France have decided to impose PCR tests on anyone who wants to go to their territory from China. But other European governments were expecting. “Several member states were waiting for the European approach before implementing travel restriction measures,” said a diplomat.
It was therefore time to act. It is in this perspective that a meeting of the “integrated device for a reaction at the political level in crisis situations” – called more soberly IPCR, according to the English acronym – was held in Brussels, Wednesday, in order to draw The contours of this coordinated approach. Representatives of each Member State sat in this advisory group, as well as members of the European Commission, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, as well as representatives of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and the Switzerland, non -members of the EU.
real convergence effort
Many were waiting for this meeting to give a clear agreement of all twenty -seven to impose tests – PCR or antigenic – before any trip from China to the European Union. The results are more nuanced. In the absence of a truly common approach, the member states are “strongly encouraged” to impose on travelers the presentation of a negative test at the COVVI-19 carried out within forty-eight hours before the flight. The formulation has been the subject of harsh discussions because the restrictions on the travel for health reasons remain the competence of the States. “This formulation reflects the agreement between states which advocate a stricter approach and those which have not yet taken measures,” synthesizes a diplomat.
You have 51.98% of this article to read. The continuation is reserved for subscribers.