Covid-19 Newsletter 2: Exit strategy

As EU Member States embark on a cautious de-confinement path, the economy slides into recession and the question of the proportionality of public health-related measures and their economic consequences is increasingly present in the public debate. As long as a vaccine (or an effective treatment) for the Covid-19 disease is not found and deployed, post-Covid-19 societies will have to coexist with the virus, and find an equilibrium between the social constraints resulting from health protecting measures ...

As EU Member States embark on a cautious de-confinement path, the economy slides into recession and the question of the proportionality of public health-related measures and their economic consequences is increasingly present in the public debate. As long as a vaccine (or an effective treatment) for the Covid-19 disease is not found and deployed, post-Covid-19 societies will have to coexist with the virus, and find an equilibrium between the social constraints resulting from health protecting measures and the need to mitigate as much as possible a huge economic shock, which if not addressed adequately, could have unpredictable social and political consequences. The Covid-19 crisis has shown above all the importance of joint European action. Although public health is primarily the competence of the Member States, the European Parliament has called on the Commission and the Member States to act together and to rise to the challenge and ensure that the Union emerges stronger from this crisis. In particular, a differentiated but coordinated post-lockdown approach in the EU should be ensured, in order to avoid a resurgence of the virus. The present Covid-19 Newsletter focuses on the de-confinement strategies and EU measures to support the economic recovery. An update of ongoing Covid-19 related expertise work for the ECON, EMPL, ENVI, ITRE and IMCO committees is provided at the end of this document.