Free PCR tests

18.5.2021

Question for written answer  E-002681/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Hélène Laporte (ID)

The idea of harmonising or having similar charges in the EU for PCR tests is currently being examined. By way of comparison, a PCR test can cost up to EUR 120 in Spain, EUR 200 in Finland or EUR 300 in Sweden.

But only France, Denmark and Malta are proposing an initiative of this kind.

In a move to relaunch tourism in France, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, has announced that foreign tourists who come to France will be able to take a free PCR test before returning home.

But this policy will be expensive: at EUR 43.20 per PCR test, the bill could rise as high as EUR 216 million for, as an example, five million tourists tested.

• 1.If the attempt to harmonise charges fails, will the Commission regulate charges itself by means of financial equalisation between Member States in the EU budget?
• 2.Does it plan to open new budgetary lines to fund free tests for tourists in France, as the government does not currently envisage reimbursement by the French social security system?