Verbatim report of proceedings

Wednesday, 13 April 2016 - Strasbourg

Zika virus outbreak (B8-0449/2016)

  Julie Girling (ECR), in writing. ‒ Alongside my conservative colleagues, I strongly welcome demands for better and more effective prevention, surveillance and control mechanisms when combatting the Zika virus. Indeed, while the Zika virus has been around for a number of years, a true understanding of the disease, particular in terms of when it is most fatal, is severely lacking. The need for more assertive and targeted action is therefore not only timely given the recent outbreak, but it is also clearly long overdue.

As a virus that poses international risk, a coordinated approach is crucial. The EU possesses a public health function and can therefore serve as a useful platform to facilitate communication and if needed, to provide advice and any other information required by the Member States. Such collaboration will ensure a more efficient allocation of resources and subsequently make any response more effective and therefore successful when minimising the destructive effects of this disease.

It is for these reasons that I voted in favour.