Stenograma dezbaterilor

Miercuri, 29 ianuarie 2020 - Bruxelles

21. Epidemia de coronavirus (dezbatere)

  Der Präsident. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärungen des Rates und der Kommission zum Ausbruch des Coronavirus (2020/2511(RSP)).

Ich möchte Sie daran erinnern, dass Sie spontane Wortmeldungen und Wortmeldungen nach dem Verfahren der blauen Karte sowohl auf die herkömmliche Weise als auch elektronisch beantragen können. Die Anleitung finden Sie am Eingang zum Plenarsaal.

  Nikolina Brnjac, President-in-Office of the Council. – Mr President, honourable Members, I wish to start by thanking you for inviting me to update you on the potentially very serious threat to public health that could result from the ongoing outbreak of acute respiratory syndrome in the Chinese city of Wuhan. It is caused by a novel coronavirus and there are already thousands of cases and more than 100 people have died. This is a place where hundreds of EU citizens live and work and I will come back to that later but let me first give a few details about the outbreak of this disease.

The Presidency takes this issue very seriously. We monitor the situation in close cooperation with Member States, authorities, EU institutions, bodies and agencies and with international organisations such as the World Health Organisation. The first cases were reported on 31 December 2019. Already on 9 January, the Chinese authorities reported that the outbreak was caused by the novel coronavirus. It is genetically closely related to the virus that caused more than 8 000 cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome, better known as SARS.

First, I’d like to state that available data about the virus transmissibility and fatality rates should be treated with caution as the situation is still evolving. What we know is that the virus causes a potentially very dangerous illness, as the mortality rate of the 2019 virus seems to be lower than the SARS, but it is still very high: about 3 percentage of the cases, varying with age, and the incubation period during which any infected persons can infect others seems to be longer. It is, therefore, potentially a serious threat.

As I speak, over 6 000 cases of coronavirus infections have been confirmed in China and Southeast Asia and regrettably 132 persons have died. So far, to the best of our knowledge, no EU citizen currently in China has been infected but some isolated cases have been reported in Europe.

In the beginning, victims seemed to have been infected by animals, but in recent days first the Chinese and then the German authorities have confirmed human—to—human transmission of the virus. This increases the potential of the virus to infect a large number of people. As you know, the Commission has the possibility and duty to assist Member States, in particular, in cases of cross—border health threats and Member States’ competent authorities follow the developments very closely.

The Health Security Committee, which deals with serious cross—border threats to health and which involves all Member States and the Commission, has already met three times to exchange information about the outbreak and will of course be involved in the further coordination of the response to this health threat.

As you know, we also have a specialised European Agency active in this field: the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. It now provides, on an almost daily basis, updates about the situation. I dare, therefore, say that, as regards the threat to public health in Europe we have sufficient expertise available to handle the situation. Furthermore, Member States’ authorities are very vigilant to further developments and, as long as there is adherence to appropriate prevention and control practices, there is a low likelihood that secondary cases will occur in the European Union. If, however, a person infected outside Europe would be discovered late, the risk of secondary transmission would be high, so we need to remain vigilant.

Let me now further outline what we have undertaken so far. On Monday, we very swiftly activated the EU’s Integrated Political Crisis Response mechanism for enhanced information sharing among Member States, the Commission and the European External Action Service. This mechanism brings together, under the steer of the Council Presidency, all relevant experts from the Member States and the European Union institutions, such as in fields of health, consular affairs and civil protection. It is an effective tool to support a collective horizontal response covering both the European Union internal and external dimension of the situation. The objective at this stage is to facilitate information sharing across relevant sectors based on expert input from all EU services so as to gain a common understanding of the situation and the latest developments.

As regards the need for repatriation of EU citizens, it should be noted that consular affairs fall under Member States’ competence, but, of course, also here we have means for cooperation. We also called on Monday a telephone conference among the Member States. Through these coordination and facilitation efforts we are giving Member States the opportunity to update and support each other on their repatriation plans. Close cooperation between the Council structures and preparatory bodies will enable us to reach, effectively and in an appropriate manner, whatever way the situation develops. We have taken this step proactively to ensure we are prepared.

We are looking forward to hearing from the Commission about their work, which is closely linked to our efforts. For example, as regards the activation of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, which has been requested by several Member States.

  Stella Kyriakides, Member of the Commission. – Honourable Members, I’m very grateful to have this opportunity to inform you about the EU’s preparedness and response to the developing situation of the coronavirus, which was first reported in China one month ago. Latest reports from this morning indicate just over 6 000 laboratory-confirmed cases and 132 deaths. All the deaths have occurred in China. The situation is evolving very rapidly and has potentially serious public health implications. We have seen that the World Health Organization is again convening the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on the situation tomorrow to advise on whether the current outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. We will follow these discussions very closely.

My priority as Commissioner in charge of health is to make sure that we as the Commission provide all the support to Member States. This means that the Commission is monitoring the situation very closely and has taken action to support national measures and coordinate the response of Member States. This takes place via the EU’s early warning and response system, where information is exchanged in real time, as well as discussions with Member States in the Health Security Committee, which has met three times. I’m also in regular contact with the Director-General of the World Health Organization and its regional director in Europe to coordinate next steps at a global level. This ensures essential and immediate information exchange and a coordinated Europe-wide response, which is, of course, the Commission’s primary responsibility.

Ladies and gentlemen, the vast majority of cases have been identified in China, but last week, cases have also been confirmed in other parts of the world, including Europe. At the moment we have four confirmed cases in France, four confirmed cases in Germany, and we also have information that a case has just been confirmed in Finland. I am in continuous contact with the French, Italian, German and Croatian health ministers, and I am assured that the necessary steps to contain the virus have been taken. On Monday the EU’s Health Security Committee met to discuss preparedness and needs of Member States and response options on the basis of the updated risk assessment from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. I have been reassured that the vast majority of European countries reported a high level of preparedness to face the coronavirus in Europe, including access to laboratory diagnosis networks; readiness for clinical diagnosis and management of cases; guidance for travellers; capacities and guidance for management of points of entry; and guidance for healthcare professionals and the public on how to deal with suspected cases.

An important topic is the repatriation of EU citizens from China: the Hubei region, more precisely, where the epidemic is concentrated. On Tuesday, France activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. We hope that as soon as possible, EU citizens will be able to come back to Europe. The details are being coordinated as we speak and the EU emergency response centre is supporting the efforts of Member States.

There remain at the moment important uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus such as its origins, its transmission mode and its pathogenicity. So we need to continue to monitor this situation very closely. It’s clear that rapid communication, sharing of information and close cooperation are paramount to tackle this outbreak effectively. If the situation deteriorates, we will consider all other tools to strengthen our support to Member States, and this would include emergency funding to support outbreak response and, of course, research, where our supercomputer centres stand ready to sequence and simulate the evolution of the virus, which can help researchers develop a vaccine. For the time being, we will continue to offer all our support. Should the EU Council Presidency decide, we would support a decision to organise an extraordinary Health Council, but I understand this is not imminent. We will update you, of course, as the situation evolves.

  Peter Liese, im Namen der PPE-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Wir müssen die Sache sehr ernst nehmen, und ich verstehe, dass viele Menschen sich jetzt Sorgen machen. Insbesondere ist es so, dass der Fall, der vorgestern in Deutschland identifiziert wurde, auf eine Ansteckung innerhalb Deutschlands, das heißt, innerhalb der Europäischen Union, beruht. Wir haben also nicht nur importierte Fälle von Menschen, die sich in China infiziert haben, sondern auch Ansteckungen innerhalb der Europäischen Union. Das ändert natürlich schon die Lage. Wir sollten es wirklich sehr ernst nehmen und sehr wachsam sein!

Auf der anderen Seite bin ich auch bei denen, die sagen: jetzt keine Panik verbreiten! Wir haben andere Gesundheitsrisiken, zum Beispiel die ganz normale Influenza, die aktuell in Europa sehr viel mehr Menschen tötet als das neuartige Corona-Virus.

Eines ist aber klar: Bei solchen Gefahren, wie sie jetzt durch das neuartige Corona-Virus entstehen, brauchen wir europäische Zusammenarbeit. Es ist gut, dass die Mitgliedstaaten sich sehr schnell gegenseitig informieren und dass keiner irgendwelche Informationen für sich behält. Ich fände es gut, wenn auch die Empfehlungen einheitlich sind, dass man nicht, wenn man in einem Grenzgebiet lebt – zum Beispiel zwischen Deutschland, Belgien und den Niederlanden – an den Flughäfen jeweils andere Empfehlungen und andere Verfahren hat. Das sollten wir gemeinsam hinkriegen, denn die Viren kennen keine Grenzen.

Ganz wichtig ist für mich, dass wir einen Appell an China richten. Es gibt ein großes Misstrauen in Europa, aber offensichtlich auch in der chinesischen Bevölkerung, ob uns die chinesischen Behörden wirklich die ganze Wahrheit erzählt haben und ob sie schnell genug die notwendigen Informationen weitergegeben haben. Ich kann das nicht beurteilen. Ich glaube aber, dass es eben einfach leider die Doktrin in China gibt, dass Transparenz nicht die oberste Pflicht ist. Das muss sich ändern! Wir müssen an China appellieren, der eigenen Bevölkerung und uns die ganze Wahrheit zu sagen, damit wir wirklich gut reagieren können. Vertuschen ist keine Lösung. Dankeschön.

  Jytte Guteland, för S&D-gruppen. – Herr talman, fru hälsokommissionär, ordförandeskapet!

Först och främst vill jag säga att jag känner med alla som drabbats av detta virus och med de familjer som svävar i oro över anhöriga. Det är naturligtvis av stor vikt att vi tar coronaviruset på allvar. Tack vare de tidiga reaktionerna och informationen från Kina så har vi givits förutsättningar att förbereda oss på vad vi behöver göra i EU.

Jag är också glad över att vi har denna debatt här i dag och över mycket av det som har sagts från ordförandeskapet och från hälsokommissionären. Jag vill dock ändå uppmana medlemsländernas hälsoministrar att verkligen bidra av bästa förmåga så att EU är ordentligt förberett och så att vi ser till också att ha det bästa samarbetet på global nivå för att få ett stopp på spridningen av viruset.

Det finns fortfarande oklarheter, vilket har nämnts i diskussionen om hur spridningen går till. Det är viktigt med löpande uppdateringar och öppenhet kring all den information som kan hjälpa oss.

Vi ska vara vaksamma och redo. Samtidigt ska vi också känna att vi har erfarenheter i EU och lärdomar från tidigare spridningar och utbrott, som till exempel utbrottet av sars i början av 2000-talet, samt även en god infrastruktur från sjukvårdens sida som också kan hjälpa oss med detta.

Nu krävs det extra vaksamhet. Genom att förbereda oss på bästa sätt, vara uppmärksamma, se till att samarbeta och vara beredda kan vi förhindra att denna spridning drabbar stort i Europa.

  Véronique Trillet-Lenoir, au nom du groupe Renew. – Monsieur le Président, Madame la commissaire à la santé, cette nouvelle forme de virus ne doit certainement pas nous inciter à la panique, mais à la prudence, étant donné les incertitudes qui persistent. Elle nous montre que les menaces sanitaires sont désormais globales et réclament une réponse unitaire et solidaire.

Non, les virus ne connaissent pas les frontières. Les solutions sont à trouver à l’échelle européenne. Je salue à ce titre l’action de l’Union européenne et l’activation du mécanisme de protection civile pour le rapatriement des citoyens de mon pays, la France. Je salue également le suivi et la coordination de la situation par le Centre européen de prévention et de contrôle des maladies.

En tant que médecin, je voudrais terminer par une remarque: la grippe a fait 13 000 morts en France l’année dernière. L’inquiétude actuelle ne doit donc pas faire oublier que des problèmes sanitaires graves sont accessibles actuellement à la prévention par la vaccination, vis-à-vis de laquelle nous devons encore lutter contre les réticences.

  Michèle Rivasi, au nom du groupe Verts/ALE. – Monsieur le Président, Madame la Commissaire, comme vous l’avez indiqué, il existe encore beaucoup d’incertitudes sur ce coronavirus.

D’abord, sur le nombre de personnes contaminées. Quand on voit les chiffres, les Chinois nous parlent de 6 000 personnes contaminées, l’université de Hong Kong nous parle de 40 000.

Ensuite, sur sa contagion. Est-il vraiment plus contagieux que d’autres virus? On s’aperçoit que ce n’est pas vraiment le cas. Est-il plus mortel que d’autres virus? On voit que par rapport à la grippe, il ne l’est pas. Est-ce qu’il va muter plus que d’autres? À l’heure actuelle, ce n’est pas vraiment le cas non plus.

Donc, je suis d’accord avec ma collègue, arrêtons de nous faire peur et je voudrais surtout transmettre un message: arrêtons de stigmatiser la communauté chinoise et asiatique. Comme vous l’avez indiqué, il faut vraiment se concentrer sur une politique de recherche, sur une politique de coopération entre les États et surtout sur une bonne information de la population, car il ne faut pas tomber dans une panique irrationnelle.

Il faut enfin rappeler qu’en France, on a entre 600 et 700 personnes qui meurent chaque année des suites de formes de coronavirus.

  Silvia Sardone, a nome del gruppo ID. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, il coronavirus è una cosa seria: stiamo parlando di 6 000 contagi, è stata superata la SARS, 132 morti e il virus è entrato anche in Europa.

Allora, vede, in questa sede dove noi sovranisti siamo stati definiti un virus, avete detto di fare nei nostri confronti un cordone sanitario, ecco, ora che invece un virus vero c'è, l'Europa si mostra disunita e in ritardo. Disunita perché alcuni paesi richiamano i connazionali, altri no. Alcune compagnie, come British Airways e Lufthansa, bloccano i voli, altre no. Altri paesi hanno addirittura bloccato gli ingressi, altri no.

In ritardo perché è chiaro che bisogna lavorare insieme all'Organizzazione mondiale della sanità, che tra l'altro solo adesso ha alzato il livello di valutazione del rischio ad elevato, bisogna lavorare con loro per trovare il più velocemente possibile il vaccino.

E poi è infine chiara la necessità di sollecitare il governo cinese a intervenire anche sulle condizioni igienico-sanitarie dei mercati, anche perché è molto probabile che questo virus, come la SARS, si sia sviluppato in zone e in mercati dove si vendono e si mangiano animali selvatici, tra cui anche pipistrelli e serpenti.

  Joanna Kopcińska, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Panie Przewodniczący! W oparciu o ostatnie doświadczenia z SARS i MERS (obydwoma koronawirusami) Unia Europejska jest zaznajomiona z tego rodzaju infekcjami. Mamy wystarczająco silną infrastrukturę medyczną, aby móc zwalczyć eskalację tych zakażeń. Z zadowoleniem przyjmuję pracę przeprowadzoną przez ECDC i PREPARE oraz wymianę danych z monitorowania i ocen ryzyka z państwami członkowskimi. Niemniej jednak musimy zachować czujność. Koronawirus może przenosić się z człowieka na człowieka, a długość okresu inkubacji wirusa może być różna.

Czy Komisja może dostarczyć informacji na temat tego, kiedy zostaną opublikowane zaktualizowane oceny ryzyka, które uwzględniałyby wspomniane fakty? Wczoraj na wniosek Francji uruchomiono Unijny Mechanizm Ochrony Ludności. Uwzględniając dynamiczną sytuację, czy Rada i Komisja mogą przekazać Parlamentowi aktualne informacje na temat Centrum Koordynacji Reagowania Kryzysowego i jego współpracy z rządami państw członkowskich w zakresie koordynacji repatriacji obywateli Unii Europejskiej i ewentualnych późniejszych okresów ich kwarantanny?

  Kateřina Konečná, za skupinu GUE/NGL. – Pane předsedající, paní komisařko, členové Rady, určitě se shodneme na tom, že se nejedná o první ani bohužel o poslední epidemii, kterou tady řešíme. Ale souhlasím s kolegy, že bychom neměli panikařit, přestože infekční nemoci jistě není radno podceňovat. Každopádně doufám, že to tak i zůstane a že informace od lékařů o tom, že nakažených je méně a nákaza v porovnání se SARS se jeví jako slabší, tak to i zůstanou.

Co si myslím, že bychom neměli také podceňovat, a jsem ráda, že zafungovaly mechanismy na téměř všech evropských letištích, je screening na letištích samotných. Měli bychom mít přístup k rychlé akci, kdy budeme moci tyto pacienty v podstatě zadržet a ihned začít léčit tak, aby nám virus dále nepřenášeli. Stejně tak rychlá diagnostika nám může velmi pomoci. Ale nicméně chci říct na závěr toto – věřme námi nastavenému systému. Naše ECDC a WHO monitorují situaci a jsou připraveni jednat. Zdá se, že doporučení vlády respektují, a pevně věřím, že to bude i tak nadále, a děkuji paní komisařce za její aktivní pomoc.

  Esther de Lange (PPE). – Voorzitter, allereerst wil ik, ondanks het feit dat we, zoals collega’s al gezegd hebben, veel nog niet weten of niet zeker weten, toch alvast de Europese Commissie complimenteren. Want ik heb een Commissie gezien die snel reageert, die ook heeft aangeboden om bijvoorbeeld de repatriëring van mensen gezamenlijk uit te voeren en te coördineren. Zeker voor kleine landen is dat heel erg belangrijk. Zo’n snelle reactie hebben we in vorige gevallen niet gezien, dus dat is goed.

Dan heb ik een aantal vragen aan de Commissie over de ontwikkeling van een vaccin. Dat wordt ontwikkeld, maar gebeurt het ook in Europa op een gecoördineerde manier? En als dat vaccin er eenmaal is, is de Commissie dan ook voornemens en bereid om bijvoorbeeld verkorte vergunnings- en toelatingsprocedures te gebruiken? Als dat vaccin er eenmaal is, is het heel belangrijk om het ook snel op de markt te krijgen. En raadt de Commissie bijvoorbeeld ook aan om op dit moment virusremmers in te slaan?

and maybe then one request to the Commissioner from a personal experience: Commissioner, if you could please coordinate the advice that Member States give to people who have questions. When the Mexican flu came to Europe and people were concerned, I was at the time pregnant in Belgium, and in the Netherlands obviously, and in Belgium I got the advice to get vaccinated and in the Netherlands I got the advice to absolutely don’t get a vaccination. So that makes people very insecure and if you could help take these concerns away among Europeans that would be highly appreciated.

  Heléne Fritzon (S&D). – Herr talman, kommissionär! I början på året bekräftades ett nytt coronavirus, nu i Kina. Det allvarliga är att det kan smitta människor. Ett nytt virus leder alltid till oro och i vissa fall också till panik. Jag välkomnar därför det tydliga ledarskap som WHO har tagit också tillsammans med Kina – detta för att stoppa spridningen av viruset. Det är bra. Det är viktigt att världssamfundet och berörda länder är snabba och transparanta med information och fakta om smittspridningen.

Det är nu väldigt viktigt att vi och våra medlemsstater, våra olika regeringar och ministrar på alla sätt bidrar till att förhindra ett utbrott i Europa. Det går aldrig att underskatta vikten av korrekt och relevant information till alla våra medborgare. Kunskap ger trygghet, och kunskap leder till rätt åtgärder och rätt insatser. Vi har medicinska experter som gör bedömningen att Europas sjukvård god, men vi får inte luta oss tillbaka. Vi ska göra allt vi kan. Våra medborgares folkhälsa är viktig, och där har vi ett ansvar.

  Nicolae Ştefănuță (Renew). – Domnule președinte, doamnă comisar, câteodată simt că istoria se repetă, atunci când văd cetățenii care se reped la farmacii pentru a cumpăra măști de protecție, care cumpără gel dezinfectant și îl folosesc la fiecare cinci minute și care, parcă, se așteaptă, mereu, la o nouă epidemie. Sindromul SARS, în 2003; Ebola, în 2014; Zika, în 2015, iar acum, în 2020, coronavirus.

În epoca schimbărilor climatice, singura constantă este schimbarea și virulența tot mai mare a pandemiilor. Rolul nostru este să arătăm leadership și metodă, un plan concret pentru ceea ce știm deja că se întâmplă.

Dragi colegi, avem oportunitatea să întărim RescEU pentru o întreagă generație. Haideți să dotăm programul cu o rezervă serioasă de medicamente și cu o procedură rapidă de achiziții publice comune. Trebuie să fim pregătiți mâine așa cum am fi vrut să fim azi. Cetățenii europeni așteaptă de la Europa un scut pentru viață și pentru sănătate.

(Vorbitorul a acceptat să răspundă unei întrebări adresate în conformitate cu procedura „cartonașului albastru” (articolul 171 alineatul (8) din Regulamentul de procedură)

  Tomislav Sokol (PPE), blue-card question. – Dear colleague, I think that this debate has shown us that, in cases like this, we need a strong common European response, a common European Union healthcare policy. Unfortunately, we know that – according to Article 168 – possibilities to have a common EU policy in this area are very limited. So my question to you is this: does this outbreak show us that the European Union needs more powers in the area of healthcare to combat these kinds of threats?

  Nicolae Ştefănuță (Renew), blue-card answer. – Mr Sokol, you’re preaching to the converted: you know we want this; you know we need this; you know that Europe needs to ‘send a man to the moon’ in the form of fighting cancer. So yes, I do think that we need not only more competence, but also to use what we already have: to use Article 168, to use the common market, to use every exception we can get to bring health policy forward for one simple reason: because European citizens accept and want this very much. So, definitely, yes.

  Francisco Guerreiro (Verts/ALE). – Senhor Presidente, Senhora Comissária, desde dezembro de 2019 até aos dias de hoje mais de seis mil pessoas foram contaminadas com o vírus corona e mais de cem morreram devido aos seus efeitos. Mesmo sabendo que o surto é mais intenso na China, o vírus já chegou aos Estados Unidos da América, ao Canadá, à Austrália e mesmo aqui, à Europa.

Nesta questão não podemos esquecer que a China é a principal fonte de importações da União Europeia, e nós na UE seguimos as recomendações da Organização Mundial de Saúde, alcançando assim padrões de segurança e qualidade alimentar elevados.

A China, ao invés, não se rege pelos mesmos padrões. No entanto, continua a beneficiar de uma abertura comercial privilegiada por parte desta União Europeia. Em troca desta nossa abertura parece que recebemos agora um vírus mortífero, que está não só a afetar os chineses como grande parte do mundo.

A irresponsabilidade da China em termos de segurança e higiene alimentar tem que ser fortemente questionada por esta União Europeia.

  Simona Baldassarre (ID). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, le notizie che ci giungono in questi giorni sull'epidemia di coronavirus sono sempre più preoccupanti e spesso contraddittorie. Siamo a 132 morti, più di 6 000 casi accertati e quasi 10 000 sospetti.

Il ministro della Salute della Costa d'Avorio ha riferito che una trentaquattrenne arrivata da Pechino è stata ricoverata con sintomi simili a quelli del coronavirus e molti Stati africani hanno quindi emesso restrizioni ai viaggiatori.

Ma c'è il controllo di chi entra in Europa da paesi terzi? E inoltre, chi controlla i flussi di immigrazione irregolari che giungono sulle sponde europee? Chi impone le quarantene necessarie?

Peraltro, voglio far notare che l'attuale protocollo di verifica della temperatura spot dei turisti in ingresso è insufficiente e pericoloso, sia per l'imprecisione della misurazione cutanea, sia perché non tiene conto del periodo di incubazione. La Commissione dovrebbe imporre a tutti gli Stati di controllare che i viaggiatori non abbiano risieduto in aree infette, almeno nelle due settimane precedenti o imporre un equivalente periodo di quarantena.

  Dolors Montserrat (PPE). – Señor presidente, las epidemias y los virus no entienden de fronteras y, por tanto, la epidemia de coronavirus sigue extendiéndose en China.

Europa se ha distinguido siempre por hacer frente a emergencias sanitarias en todo el mundo, en la detección precoz y en la prevención. Diecisiete años después de la epidemia de síndrome de respiración agudo, las lecciones aprendidas tenemos que ponerlas en marcha para contrarrestar esta epidemia. La Unión Europea es ejemplo en el mundo de solidaridad, de cooperación, de eficacia, pero también a la vez somos líderes en el mundo en prevención y en atención sanitaria. Por tanto, tenemos la obligación de apoyar a cualquier país en dificultad, en el respeto de esos principios de solidaridad y cooperación en los que se ha construido la Unión Europea, y, por ello, también debemos exigirle a China transparencia e información. Porque pensamos que la Unión Europea debe activar el Centro Europeo de Coordinación de la Respuesta a Emergencias para facilitar estas acciones de asistencia y de asesoramiento a China, así como a otros países afectados, y también para poder coordinar la respuesta temprana en los Estados miembros y la prevención en los Estados miembros. Y nos tenemos que poner a trabajar, coordinados por la Comisión Europea y, por supuesto, con la colaboración de la OMS.

Europa tiene que garantizar la defensa de la salud pública de sus ciudadanos, como también de los ciudadanos del resto del mundo. Y por ello tenemos que ponernos en primera línea en la organización de una respuesta coordinada a la emergencia sanitaria, que puede llegar a ser global.

  Miriam Dalli (S&D). – Iċ-ċittadini tagħna mħassba u għandhom id-dritt li jkunu jafu li qiegħed isir minn kollox biex l-interessi tagħhom ikunu mħarsa.

Inti semmejt 132 persuna li tilfu ħajjithom, aktar minn 6000 persuna infettati. Veru ma rridux noħolqu paniku imma rridu nibqgħu viġilanti għaliex in-numri qegħdin jinbidlu b'ritmu mgħaġġel. Issemmew erba' każi kkonfermati fi Franza, erba' każi kkonfermati fil-Ġermanja u issa anke każ fil-Finlandja. U dan huwa virus li qiegħed iħasseb lid-dinja kollha u allura iva hemm bżonn miżuri Ewropej komuni għall-pajjiżi kollha fl-Unjoni Ewropea biex nillimitaw il-firxa ta' dan il-virus.

Għaliex iċ-ċittadini tagħna huma f'liema pajjiż huma tal-Unjoni Ewropea għandhom ikunu protetti u jħossuhom siguri, partikolarment jekk qegħdin isiefru. U qegħdin nitolbuk Kummissarju, għal miżuri urġenti biex ikunu identifikati u iżolati pazjenti infettati u għal kull persuna li qiegħda tivvjaġġa minn pajjiż infettat biex ikunu segwiti għall-perjodu meħtieġ anke ma jidhirx li jkollhom sintomu mal-wasla tagħhom fil-pajjiż tagħna.

U nappella wkoll lill-Istati Membri, għaliex l-Istati Membri għandhom ikollhom kampanji ta' informazzjoni għaċ-ċittadini tagħhom.

  Katalin Cseh (Renew). – Well, if we as MEPs ever needed a reminder that we are dealing with matters of life and death, this is it. I’m a physician by training and there are three aspects I want to stress. Europe needs to be calm, united and prepared, because in a crisis situation trust in our institutions is paramount, and I’m very worried to see the legitimate fears of the public being manipulated and geared towards hate-mongering. Descending to xenophobia against Chinese, Europeans, visitors and immigrants leads absolutely nowhere. If there is an irresponsible way of dealing with a crisis, well, this is it.

And this challenge highlights also how interdependent we are in Europe, because pandemics know no borders and, unfortunately, there are great inequalities between the healthcare systems of our Member States. We have to help each other. Less developed regions need European help to take the necessary precautionary measures. If one Member State is overburdened, that has an impact on every single Member State. So a crisis like this makes it crystal clear that solidarity is in the interest of all of us.

  Luisa Regimenti (ID). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, in primis, in quanto medico, sono fortemente preoccupata per il diffondersi a macchia d'olio del coronavirus, il cui rischio globale, per stessa ammissione dell'Organizzazione mondiale della sanità, è considerato elevato.

Siamo di fronte a una minaccia mondiale di vasta proporzione e di estrema gravità. Il virus si sta rafforzando ed è diffondibile anche tramite soggetti asintomatici. Sono ad oggi stati riscontrati numerosi casi di contagio anche in Europa.

Le azioni finora intraprese dalla Commissione europea, seppure opportune, non bastano a proteggere i nostri cittadini da un virus potente di cui non possediamo informazioni chiare su sintomi e percorsi epidemiologici. Ritengo di estrema urgenza e importanza che l'Unione europea insista presso l'Organizzazione mondiale della sanità perché sia dichiarata l'emergenza sanitaria internazionale e, conseguentemente, si prendano immediatamente misure sanitarie che la situazione richiede, non da ultimo, se necessario, la chiusura temporanea delle frontiere della Cina, con la sospensione delle importazioni di tutti i potenziali veicoli di infezione.

  Ewa Kopacz (PPE). – Panie Przewodniczący! Sytuacja, z którą mamy dzisiaj do czynienia, jest z pewnością poważna. Nie możemy jej lekceważyć, nie możemy zastanawiać się, kiedy to w naszym państwie, w naszym mieście pojawi się pierwszy czy kolejny przypadek zakażenia. Dzisiejszy świat bez granic wyjątkowo sprzyja takim obawom.

Apeluję do Komisji Europejskiej, by zjednoczyć siły. Wspólnie musimy znaleźć odpowiedzi na trudne pytania. Czy europejskie laboratoria są przygotowane na szybką identyfikację wirusa? Czy europejskie szpitale są gotowe na odpowiednie i skuteczne leczenie zakażonych pacjentów? Czy obowiązują i są przestrzegane procedury zabezpieczające personel medyczny? Czy nie należałoby się zastanowić nad powołaniem stałego europejskiego zespołu szybkiego reagowania?

  Nicolás González Casares (S&D). – Señor presidente, le diría a la Comisión y al Consejo que, sobre todo, seriedad, sin alarmismos, pero seriedad en la comunicación. Tenemos muchos ciudadanos y ciudadanas de la Unión Europea que viven en Asia y, además, tenemos un gran comercio internacional; por lo tanto, tenemos que ser serios en la comunicación.

Creo que hemos aprendido de crisis anteriores y tenemos un conocimiento previo. Pongámoslo en marcha y utilicémoslo. Desde luego, la coordinación entre los Estados miembros y dentro de la Unión Europea es fundamental. Tenemos fronteras comunes y debemos controlarlas, pero, como digo, sin caer en el alarmismo.

El personal sanitario de la Unión Europea y nuestros servicios de emergencias han aprendido de crisis previas; por lo tanto, tenemos ese conocimiento que nos va a permitir no caer en alarmismos. Y también hablo de las repatriaciones. No es lo mismo repatriar a personas que están viviendo fuera y que están en situación de alerta que a personas que tengan y presenten síntomas: debemos saber diferenciar y fundamentar; pongamos en marcha protocolos y comuniquémoslos bien.

  Andreas Glück (Renew). – Herr Präsident, werte Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Ich halte es für richtig, dass ein Großteil des Gesundheitsbereichs durch die Nationalstaaten geregelt ist. Aber es gibt manche Bereiche, da muss Europa stärker werden, gerade im Bereich der Arzneimittelzulassung und auch bei dem Thema Hygiene. Gerade vorher habe ich mit Herrn Professor Kremsner von der Universität Tübingen gesprochen – dort habe ich Medizin studiert –, und er hat mir bestätigt, dass auf europäischer Ebene tatsächlich sehr vieles gut läuft, aber eben nicht alles perfekt.

Frau Kommissarin Kyriakides hat zwei Punkte genannt, die ich unterstreichen möchte. Zum einen müssen wir das ECDC stärken – finanziell aber auch mit seinen Kompetenzen. Im Vergleich zum amerikanischen CDC führt das ECDC ein Armutsdasein. Und das Zweite ist: In Notfällen muss eben auch die Arzneimittelzulassung wenig bürokratisch laufen können. Hierzu möchten wir, dass nicht nur Phase-3-Studien durch die Europäische Arzneimittelagentur erfolgen, sondern eben auch Phase-1- und -2-Studien, um hier Zeit zu sparen.

In times of nova corona, we say it clearly: Europe is quite well when it comes to public health, but we can get a lot better, so let’s make it so.

  Edina Tóth (PPE). – Tisztelt Elnök úr! Tisztelt Biztos Asszony! Az utóbbi hetekben rendkívül aggasztó hírek érkeztek a Kínában nemrégiben azonosított súlyos tüdőgyulladással járó koronavírus terjedéséről. Kiemelten fontosnak tartom, hogy a tagállamok naprakész és valós információkkal rendelkezzenek, és folyamatosan figyeljék az Egészségügyi Világszervezet és az uniós szakügynökségek ajánlásait, az óvintézkedésekkel kapcsolatos döntéseket pedig ennek megfelelően hozzák meg. Mivel légikikötőink a kínai beutazók esetén Európa kapuját jelentik, esetleges hatósági intézkedés elrendelése esetén repülőtereinknek rendelkeznie kell minden olyan szükséges eszközzel és felszereléssel, amellyel képesek ellátni a rájuk vonatkozó előírásokat, és támogatni tudják a hatóságok munkáját. Úgy gondolom, hogy polgáraink védelme az első. A koordináció most nagyon fontos, ezért is kérem az Európai Bizottságot, hogy folyamatosan elemezze a helyzetet, és tegye meg a szükséges javaslatait a tagállamok számára.

  Tudor Ciuhodaru (S&D). – Domnule președinte, este oficial. Chiar dacă nu ne place, este oficial. Noul coronavirus amenință acum și Europa. Sunt decelate patru cazuri în Franța și patru în Germania, iar măsurile de prevenție sunt extrem de importante.

Eu sunt medic, medic de urgență în Iași, România, la Spitalul Clinic de Urgență „Nicolae Oblu” și consider că, în acest moment, onorată Comisie și onorat Consiliu, este extrem de important să punem în practică un plan unitar de intervenție pentru a realiza trei lucruri care pot să prevină răspândirea acestui tip de virus.

În primul rând, măsuri unitare de prevenție la nivel european. În al doilea rând, măsuri unitare de monitorizare activă și da, sistemul de alertă rapidă poate fi o soluție. În al treilea rând, pregătirea pentru o eventuală intervenție, iar RescEU și Mecanismul european de protecție civilă sunt doar câteva elemente din acest ansamblu și cred că dotarea cu medicamente și o echipă medicală mobilă la nivel european pot fi soluții oricând într-o astfel de situație de criză.

În plus, vă reamintesc că virusul a depășit trei bariere majore. În primul rând, s-a spus inițial că este o zoonoză, că nu se poate transmite de la animale la om și uite că se transmite, iar în acest moment vedem că sunt foarte multe cazuri la nivel european, așa cum spunem noi... (Președintele a retras cuvântul vorbitorului).

  Maria da Graça Carvalho (PPE). – Senhor Presidente, o novo surto de coronavírus demonstra, mais uma vez, a importância do financiamento adequado da ciência, bem como da cooperação internacional.

Em diferentes partes do mundo várias equipas já estão a trabalhar numa vacina para este vírus e temos razões para acreditar que a solução poderá surgir mais rapidamente que em 2003, quando enfrentámos o coronavírus SARS.

Vale a pena estar preparado, vale a pena investir em ciência. Foi graças aos fundos fornecidos pelo Horizonte 2020 que se conseguiu chegar a uma vacina contra o ébola na sequência do surto dessa doença ocorrido em 2014. Esse desenvolvimento permitiu-nos salvar muitas vidas em todo o mundo. O valor acrescentado do investimento em ciência torna-se muito evidente quando surgem os resultados, mas estes só aparecem quando há uma aposta sólida, continuada e sustentável.

  Milan Brglez (S&D). – Gospod predsedujoči, gospa komisarka, predstavniki Sveta.

Poročila o tem, kako se širi koronavirus, so vsekakor zaskrbljujoča. Tisto, kar bi sam hotel poudariti, je predvsem to, da to še enkrat več kaže, kako moramo premišljeno in usklajeno delovati. Torej, da je dodana vrednost Evropske unije v usklajevanju in sodelovanju članic.

Glede na to sem dal tudi urgentno vprašanje Svetu, vendar to ni namenjeno temu, da bi ustvarjali izredne razmere, paniko ali širili nestrpnost, ampak predvsem poziv k temu, da usklajeno delujemo.

Veseli me proaktivna vloga Evropske komisije, tudi na operativni ravni, tako na področju zdravja kot kriznega upravljanja, prav tako dejstvo, da imamo mehanizme, na katere se lahko zanesemo, torej civilne zaščite, ki so razviti, treba jih je še ustrezno materialno podpreti, da bodo razmeram ustrezno reagirali, še preden bo volja držav, da bodo ...

(predsedujoči je izklopil mikrofon.)

Spontane Wortmeldungen

  Eugen Tomac (PPE). – Domnule președinte, doamnă comisară, intervenția mea este foarte scurtă. Într-adevăr, ne îngrijorează pe toți, Europa este preocupată de acest virus și pericolul vine tocmai de la faptul că este un virus care se răspândește foarte rapid.

Felicit Comisia și Consiliul pentru că acționează ferm, rapid, comunică, însă simt că trebuie să faceți mai mult tocmai pentru a informa cetățenii, în mod special cetățenii din zonele vulnerabile. Cred că este bine să treceți la următorul nivel, prin care să pregătiți, prin mijloacele de informare în masă, campanii prin care să încurajați cetățenii să se protejeze. Igiena, prevenția sunt lucruri esențiale în momente de asemenea criză.

  Manuel Pizarro (S&D). – Senhor Presidente, Senhora Comissária, a epidemia do coronavírus não justifica o pânico, mas justifica uma preocupação e uma atitude concertada. Mais de cem pessoas já morreram, há casos diagnosticados em dezoito países diferentes. Todos sabemos que a epidemia começou na China, que é onde está o seu ponto mais preocupante, e todos sabemos também que Taiwan é um hub importantíssimo naquela zona geográfica do leste da Ásia.

São por isso, do meu ponto de vista, muito preocupantes as notícias que chegam de que os especialistas de Taiwan não estão incluídos na reunião de especialistas de alto nível convocada pela Organização Mundial de Saúde.

As considerações de geopolítica não podem ser mais relevantes do que a proteção da saúde pública e da saúde de todos os cidadãos do mundo, e eu gostava de saber o que pensam as instituições europeias, e nomeadamente a Comissão Europeia, fazer para garantir que Taiwan é ativamente envolvida no combate a esta epidemia, o que é também essencial para nós, europeus.

  Liudas Mažylis (PPE). – Gerbiamas Pirmininke, koronavirusas, nepaisant prielaidų, vis dėlto ateina. Epidemiologiškai nėra tame nieko nuostabaus. Yra paskaičiuota, kad vienas apkrėstasis paskleidžia infekciją vidutiniškai dviem su puse aplinkinių, tad norint nukirsti plitimo grandinę, būtina izoliuoti 60 proc. tų, kurie patyrė kontaktą. Ir, kaip buvo galima tikėtis, Kinijoje šis virusas nebuvo izoliuotas.

Istoriškai tokių pavyzdžių buvo. Prieš 100 metų buvo ispaniškasis virusas, kurio patirtis mums gal ir ne tiek svarbi, bet XXI a. susidūrėme su SARS virusu, ir ta patirtis yra sukaupta. Aš manau, kad profesionalams priemonių planas yra iš esmės aiškus. Pritarčiau, kad trumpuoju laikotarpiu yra labai svarbu informacinės kampanijos, o kalbant apie ilgąjį laikotarpį, pritariu tiems, kurie kalba apie didesnes investicijas į mokslinius tyrimus.

(Ende der spontanen Wortmeldungen)

  Stella Kyriakides, Member of the Commission. – It’s an interesting debate. I will try to touch on as many questions as possible.

I hope, in the way that I spoke at the beginning, I did not appear to stir up panic. This was not the intention, and as Veronique Trillet-Lenoir has said, we should not create panic. But we need to balance that with being vigilant and carefully monitoring a changing situation, which is what we have at the moment.

There are many uncertainties – many of you have mentioned this. The WHO has issued guidelines, together with ECDC, for travel, and I would also like to add here that we really don’t have any indications, as has been said by some colleagues and by Madam Montserrat, that China is not giving all the necessary information. In fact, the WHO General Director was there two days ago and has already briefed us on what the situation is.

It’s obvious that we need to have global cooperation and we need to have constant updates. We do need to be very careful that we are speaking with one clear voice, and this is exactly what we are trying to do in our coordinating role as a Commission, to ensure that ECDC info and WHO information reaches the Member States.

In terms of vaccinations, the Commission is launching a call to develop a vaccine as we speak, and the European Medicines Authority can authorise a fast-track procedure if this is found.

There is concern among European citizens, and WHO and ECDC have given clear guidelines on travel precautions and laboratory testing and isolation, and our information from Member States is that, once EU citizens are repatriated, quarantine measures will be taken.

We have joined forces with as many other entities and bodies as possible, and Member States have assured us through the CDC that their laboratories are ready.

Finally, I wanted to say that, under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, further emergency assistance can be provided if requested, including emergency medical corps, which can be deployed both inside and outside the European Union.

So I will stop here. I just want to be absolutely emphatic that we are going to continue to monitor this very closely. We are monitoring it on a daily basis – responsibly, without creating panic, but also being aware that we have a complex evolving situation that we need to be aware of, and I will be available to inform the Parliament at any point in time of any developments.

  Nikolina Brnjac, President-in-Office of the Council. – Mr President, I would like to thank you for today’s exchange of views on this topic, which is of crucial importance for the health of EU citizens at home and abroad. The Croatian Presidency will do its part, in close cooperation with the EU bodies responsible for health and other Member States, to ensure continued monitoring of the development of the situation in China, but also in other south-eastern Asian countries and indeed in the European Union, so that necessary measures can be taken if the situation gets worse.

At this stage, we do not consider that the situation in Europe constitutes a crisis. However, to make sure, we are ready for any developments, and we believe it is prudent to enable maximum information sharing among the European partners as well as to our citizens. The activation of the Integrated Political Crisis Response mechanism offers a practical tool to do that. Furthermore, we underline the important work done by the Health Security Committee and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

I assure you that we very closely follow the development of this potentially very serious disease outbreak. There are established EU structures for handling serious health threats – I think in particular of the Health Security Committee and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, which both do an excellent job. For the time being, there is, in our view, no reason to assume that those structures, in combination with increased vigilance from national authorities, would not suffice for protecting public health in the European Union. The Presidency will keep the situation under close review and will keep you actively informed.

  Der Präsident. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 171)

  Robert Hajšel (S&D), písomne. – Aktivovanie Európskeho mechanizmu civilnej ochrany bolo prvou reakciou inštitúcií EÚ v snahe pomôcť členským štátom v boji proti šíreniu nového koronavírusu z Číny. Prostredníctvom tohto mechanizmu môže EÚ poskytovať pomoc občanom EÚ v núdzi kdekoľvek vo svete. Podarilo sa už napríklad poskytnúť dve lietadlá na repatriáciu občanov EÚ z regiónu Wu-chan. To je iba začiatok, vzhľadom na epidemické šírenie nebezpečného koronavírusu budú žiadosti členských štátov o pomoc nepochybne pribúdať. Koordinácia, materiálna pomoc a najmä vhodná komunikácia a výmena informácií musí pokračovať v čo najvyššej kvalite, keďže práve tieto postupy sú pridanou hodnotou EÚ. Situáciu nemožno podceniť, ale zároveň musíme urobiť všetko pre to, aby sa po rozšírení koronavírusu do Európy zabránilo panike, ktorá by mohla poškodiť naše hospodárstvo a spoločnosť možno viac ako samotný vírus. Ochrana zdravia ľudí musí byť na prvom mieste a tomu treba podriadiť celé úsilie inštitúcií EÚ. Naše kompetentné úrady musia spolupracovať so Svetovou zdravotníckou organizáciou, ako aj s Čínou, USA, Izraelom, Ruskom a ďalšími na urýchlenom vyvíjaní vakcíny, ale spoluprácu treba podporiť aj pri výrobe a distribúcii vhodných antivirotík a pri repatriácii občanov. Pri fungujúcej spolupráci a dodržiavaní určených postupov by sa mohlo podariť ochrániť naše obyvateľstvo pred oveľa horšími zdravotnými a sociálnymi dôsledkami.