European responses to the corona crisis – Part 6 (25 April – 30 April)

During the Coronavirus crises, the European Science-Media Hub is collecting and publishing a regular update of the most relevant releases provided by EU institutions and other European and global actors. 🆕 Last Update : 30 April

on April 28, 2020

coronavirus updates part 6
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April 30, 2020 update

• European Commission: The Coronavirus Global Response pledging marathon – On 4 May, President von der Leyen will host a global online pledging event at 3pm. The initial goal is to reach €7.5 billion worth of pledges. The money collected will help accelerate the development and deployment of universally available and affordable vaccination, treatment and diagnostics.

• EUROPOL report – Beyond the pandemic – How COVID-19 will shape the serious and organised crime landscape in the EU.

• EASO: Latest Asylum Trends – Latest figures show that applications for asylum in the EU+ dropped by almost half in March as COVID-19 containment measures took effect.

• Eurostat release – GDP down by 3.8% in the euro area and by 3.5% in the EU.

• IEA: New report – Global energy demand to plunge this year as a result of the biggest shock since the Second World War A new report released by the International Energy Agency provides an almost real-time view of the Covid-19 pandemic’s extraordinary impact across all major fuels.

• EP release – MEPs urge EU Commissioner Wojciechowski to step up aid for EU farmers.

• EP ECON Committee release – EP ECON activities in regard to COVID-19.

• EEAS statement – Declaration by the High Representative Josep Borrell, on malicious cyber activities exploiting the coronavirus pandemic.

• EDPS: Carrying the torch in times of darkness – Humanity does not need to commit to a trade-off between privacy and data protection from one side, and public health, on the other. Democracies in the age of Covid-19 must and can have them both.

• European Commission: 117 solutions selected at European Hackathon – A total of 117 innovative solutions to tackle the coronavirus have been selected as winners of the European Innovation Council-led #EUvsVirus Hackathon.

• EUvsDisinfo release – Are Pro-Kremlin Disinformation Outlets Disenchanted with the Coronavirus?

April 29, 2020 update

• EU package of measures to support transport sector – The European Commission today adopted a package of measures that will provide significant relief to the transport sector by solving practical problems, removing administrative burdens, and increasing flexibility.

• State aid to Hungary, Poland, Estonia, France – The European Commission approves – €900 million Hungarian schemes to support companies affected by coronavirus outbreak – €1.55 billion Hungarian guarantee scheme to support companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak – prolongation of the Polish resolution scheme for cooperative and small commercial banks – two additional Estonian schemes to support companies affected by coronavirus outbreak – €5 billion loan guarantee by France to the Renault group to mitigate economic impact of coronavirus outbreak

• JRC: Food insecurity and the knock-on effects of COVID-19 in the hungriest countries – The number of people battling acute hunger and suffering from malnutrition is on the rise again. The upheaval set in motion by the COVID-19 pandemic may push even more families and communities into deeper distress.

April 28, 2020 update

• Adoption of banking package to facilitate lending to households and businesses in the EU – The aim of this package is to ensure that banks can continue to lend money to support the economy and help mitigate the significant economic impact of the Coronavirus.

• ILO statement – The International Labour Organization warns that without adequate safeguards for returning workers there could be a second wave of the virus.

• UNWTO release – Related travel restrictions a global review for tourism

• EP release – Emergency measures to help EU farmers and fishermen.

• Council of Europe statement – COVID-19 tracing apps: side effects on personal data protection should be avoided.

• DIGITALEUROPE: Pan-European survey on the impact of COVID-19 on the digital industry – DIGITALEUROPE, in collaboration with 14 national trade associations from across Europe, conducted a survey of 634 digital businesses of all sizes between 17 March and 16 April 2020.

• EP AFET Committee: MEPs concerned over disinformation attempts – MEPs and High Representative/Vice President Josep Borrell will discuss the latest report by the European External Action Service about disinformation on COVID-19, on 30 April.

• Guidance to mitigate clinical trial disruption in the EU – With more than 200 coronavirus clinical trials now registered in the EU database (EudraCT), the guidance offers recommendations for simple and flexible measures to respond to the current situation, and to ensure that patients participating in clinical trials across the EU can continue receiving their medicines.

April 27, 2020 update

• EP release – MEPs voice criticism of aid package to cheese and wine farmers.

• European Commission: How the EU responds to the coronavirus outbreak in support of the cultural and creative sectors – The European Commission, to complement and support Member States’ actions, has taken a set of measures to tackle the consequences of the novel coronavirus outbreak on the cultural and creative sectors.

• WTO report – WTO issued new report on treatment of medical products in regional trade agreements.

• European Innovation Council’s vision – For Europe to emerge stronger after the Coronavirus crisis, we need to direct our investments towards game-changing innovations that create a sustainable and human centric digital future.

April 26, 2020 update

• State aid to Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Slovenia, Belgium, Finland, Poland, Sweden, Malta – (24 -27 April) The European Commission approves €550 million German State-guaranteed loan to compensate airline Condor for damage caused by coronavirus outbreak, €16.6 billion Polish repayable advance scheme to support companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak, second Spanish “umbrella” scheme to support economy in coronavirus outbreak, €100 million Dutch subsidised loan scheme to support SMEs affected by coronavirus outbreak, French guarantee scheme for exporting companies affected by coronavirus outbreak, €2 billion Slovenian “umbrella” scheme to support the economy in coronavirus outbreak, €200,000 direct grant scheme to support agricultural and aquaculture sectors in Brussels-Capital region following coronavirus outbreak, €3 billion Finnish scheme to support companies affected by coronavirus outbreak, €700 million Polish aid scheme to support companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak, Swedish public guarantee of up to €137 million to compensate airline SAS for damage caused by coronavirus outbreak, €215 million Maltese employment aid scheme to support sectors affected by coronavirus outbreak

April 25, 2020 update

• UN News – No evidence’ that recovered COVID-19 patients cannot be reinfected, says WHO

• EIT: EUR 6 million to accelerate COVID-19 solutions – EIT Health has announced funding of over EUR 6 million in the fight against COVID-19, which will be dedicated to 14 specially selected health innovation projects across Europe.

Consult older ESMH articles on the European responses to the corona crisis