WIREDGOV

“The coronavirus crisis will likely redefine our politics, our geopolitics and possibly globalisation itself. And in this new world Europe will need to stick together through thick and thin”, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said at the European Parliament session that on 16 April discussed EU's coordinated response to the coronavirus and its consequences.

Von der Leyen honoured those who lost their lives, promising that 'we would tell their stories'. "We will remember Julie, the French teenager with her whole life ahead of her, Jan, the veteran Czech historian who always fought for what he believed in, and Gino, the Italian doctor who came out of retirement to save lives."

Von der Leyen also used the opportunity to pay tribute to all those fighting the battle against the virus across Europe which had become ‘the world's beating heart of solidarity'. “We have seen medical supplies go from Lithuania to Spain and respirators go from Denmark to Italy. In fact, we have seen every piece of equipment go in every direction across Europe, from whoever can spare it to whoever that needs it”, she said.

She reminded of the Commission's actions since the outbreak: from creating common stockpile of medical equipment, to organising joint procurements, to pledging every euro left to save lives and livelihoods of Europeans.

“We proposed to direct all our remaining budget for the year into an emergency instrument. This will allow almost 3 billion euro to go directly to where it needs to go – from securing new ventilators and protective gear, to scaling up testing efforts and providing medical assistance to the most vulnerable, including those in refugee camps”, she explained in more detail. This means ‘Europe is putting everything it has into doing everything it can', she told the Members of the Parliament as they were about to vote on these measures.

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