The Council today approved conclusions reaffirming the EU’s commitment to human rights in the context of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The European Union has announced today an additional €500 million for the COVAX Facility, doubling its contribution to date for the global initiative that is leading efforts to secure fair and equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in low and middle-income countries.

Today, the European Commission approved a second contract with the pharmaceutical company Moderna, which provides for an additional purchase of 300 million doses (150 million in 2021 and an option to purchase an additional 150 million in 2022) on behalf of all EU Member States. The new contract also provides for the possibility to donate the vaccine to lower and middle-income countries or to re-direct it to other European countries.

The EU is working to turn its €750 billion recovery package into action. The Council today adopted a regulation establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which lies at the heart of the EU’s recovery plan. It will make €672.5 billion in grants and loans available for public investment and reforms in the 27 member states to help them address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, to foster the green and digital transitions and to build resilient and inclusive societies.

Hasta la fecha, la Unión Europea ha autorizado todas las solicitudes de entrega de vacunas a terceros países. Ayer 8 de febrero autoridades competentes de la Unión Europea autorizaron un envío de vacunas contra la COVID-19 a México. Hasta el momento no se ha recibido otra solicitud de autorización para envíos de vacunas contra la COVID-19 a México. En el futuro se seguirá trabajando para procesar rápidamente las solicitudes de autorización.

2020 was a dreadful year. As COVID-19 spread and developed into a pandemic of truly global proportions, countless lives were lost, livelihoods shattered, and activities, which we once took for granted, became a distant dream. 

We fully appreciate that some trade partners, like Malaysia, may have concerns on the export authorisation system put in place by the EU on 30 January. This is not an export ban, but a mechanism to have transparency over where vaccines made by companies with whom the EU has signed a contract are going.

The European Union welcomes the decision of the EU-supported COVAX/GAVI facility of 29 January 2021 to allocate 24,570 doses of BioNTech- Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and up to 264,000 indicative doses of AstraZeneca / SKBio COVID-19 vaccine to the Republic of Moldova.

On 21 January, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, met with the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili.

Today, the European Commission concluded exploratory talks with the pharmaceutical company Valneva with a view to purchasing its potential vaccine against COVID-19. The envisaged contract with Valneva would provide for the possibility for all EU Member States to purchase together 30 million doses, and they could further purchase up to 30 million more doses.

Today, the European Commission has granted a conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) for the COVID‑19 vaccine developed by Moderna, the second COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the EU. This authorisation follows a positive scientific recommendation based on a thorough assessment of the safety, effectiveness and quality of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and is endorsed by the Member States.

Today, the European Commission has granted a conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) for the COVID‑19 vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, making it the first COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the EU. This authorisation follows a positive scientific recommendation based on a thorough assessment of the safety, effectiveness and quality of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and is endorsed by the Member States.

Following a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted. As stipulated in the Council recommendation, this list will continue to be reviewed regularly and, as the case may be, updated.

Minister of International Cooperation, Dr. Rania Al Mashat, and Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt, Ambassador Christian Berger, signed an amendment to Health Sector Policy Support Program-II, worth EUR 89 million, to combat coronavirus pandemic.

As part of Team Europe's global response to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union announced today a new €20 million programme to support the preparedness and response capacities of our partners in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Dans le cadre de sa coopération avec le Sahel, l'Union européenne a annoncé aujourd'hui le déboursement d'un appui budgétaire de 92 millions d'euros pour renforcer la réponse du Burkina Faso, de la Mauritanie, du Niger et du Tchad à la propagation du coronavirus. Il s'agit d'offrir des soins de santé de qualité à la population et réduire les répercussions économiques et sociales de la pandémie.

The European Council assessed the current epidemiological situation, which is unprecedented and gives rise to very serious concern.

The Commission has signed a joint procurement framework contract with the pharmaceutical company Gilead for the supply of up to 500,000 treatment courses of Veklury, the brand name for Remdesivir, and the opportunity to increase supply beyond the 500,000 treatment courses.

The European Commission has allocated additional €10 million in humanitarian aid to support the most vulnerable people in eastern Ukraine ahead of the upcoming winter and in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This brings EU humanitarian funding for eastern Ukraine in 2020 to €23 million.

The EU and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho allocate a total of €11.8 Million (approx. M235 Million) to assist vulnerable populations affected by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Today, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi and the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia, signed two financing agreements worth €129 million to assist Georgia in coping with the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on the country's economy.

Today, the European Commission confirmed its participation in the COVAX Facility for equitable access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines, following its expression of interest on 31 August and its announcement of a contribution of €400 million.

As part of the EU's global coronavirus response, an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge operation consisting of three flights to Lima, Peru this week is delivering a total of more than 4 tonnes of life-saving materials to humanitarian organisations active in the country. At the same time, the EU has announced €30.5 million in humanitarian assistance to support the most vulnerable in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2020.

The European Commission has today concluded exploratory talks with BioNTech-Pfizer to purchase a potential vaccine against COVID-19. BioNTech-Pfizer is the sixth company with which the Commission has concluded talks, following Sanofi-GSK on 31 July, Johnson & Johnson on 13 August, CureVac on 18 August and Moderna on 24 August. The first contract, signed with AstraZeneca, entered into force on 27 August.

A flight from the European Union (EU) humanitarian air bridge will land in Abidjan today, carrying medical equipment and PPE for Ivorian health personnel. The shipment includes medical outfits, masks and refrigerators, to protect the people of Côte d'Ivoire and ensure their access to healthcare, as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

The European Commission has presented proposals to the Council for decisions to grant financial support of €81.4 billion to 15 Member States under the SURE instrument. SURE is a crucial element of the EU's comprehensive strategy to protect citizens and mitigate the severely negative socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. It is one of the three safety nets agreed by the European Council to shield workers, businesses and countries.

August 6^th 2020, Port of Spain: The European Union Delegation to Trinidad and Tobago today announced the award of a grant of TT$1.7M (approx.

The Commission on behalf of the EU has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with North Macedonia to pave the way for the disbursement of €80 million in macro-financial assistance (MFA). This is the first MoU signed as part of €3 billion MFA package that the Commission proposed for ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners to help them limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

The European Union (EU) has signed three grant agreements worth €5.3 million or IDR 86 billion with European and Indonesian NGOs working in partnership to help Indonesia contain the COVID-19 outbreak and its social and economic consequences.

The European Union has this week released the final payment of EUR 1,350,000 (NZD 2,350,000) to the Government of Cook Islands as part of its partnership signed with the Government in 2017 to improve wastewater management systems, under the European Development Fund (EDF).

Un contrat de 65 milliards GNF (6 millions d’euros) pour financer un projet de riposte contre la Covid-19 et soutenir les populations guinéennes. C’est le deuxième projet dédié spécifiquement à la riposte contre l’épidémie de Covid-19 que l’Union européenne finance en Guinée après celui conclu avec Terre des hommes portant sur 2,5 millions d’euros.

July 2, 2020: COVID-19 crisis has adversely affected the economies worldwide, with tourism being the worst affected of all major economic sectors.

H.E. Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and H.E. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, held a Leaders' meeting via video conference on 30 June 2020. The leaders acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting every country of the world, leading to immense human suffering, putting enormous strains on healthcare and welfare systems, as well as badly hitting economies and putting jobs at risk.

In a public ceremony held at the Office of the President, “Team Europe,” the European Union (EU) and two of its Member States – France and Germany, in partnership with the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) and the Botswana Red Cross Society, handed over critical Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Government of Botswana, in support of the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ‘Global Goal: Unite For Our Future' campaign launched by the Commission and the international advocacy organisation Global Citizen on 28 May will culminate in a global pledging summit and concert on Saturday 27 June. The aim is to mobilise additional funding to develop and deploy coronavirus vaccines, tests and treatments. Access to vaccines everywhere, for everyone who needs them, will enable the world to overcome this pandemic and avoid another.It will also help rebuild communities impacted by the pandemic in a fair and just way.

European Union countries can now apply for additional funding via the Emergency Support Instrument to transport essential goods, medical teams and patients affected by the coronavirus. This comes in addition to support already available via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and deliveries of protective equipment through rescEU.

Today the Commission recommends to Schengen Member States and Schengen Associated States to lift internal border controls by 15 June 2020 and to prolong the temporary restriction on non-essential travel into the EU until 30 June 2020; and sets out an approach to progressively lifting the restriction afterwards.

As part of the EU's global response to the coronavirus outbreak, the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis has mobilised an additional €55 million for refugees from Syria and vulnerable persons in Jordan and Lebanon to fight the pandemic. It will provide critical and targeted support in key areas such as health, water, sanitation and hygiene. The newly adopted package brings the total assistance mobilised through the EU Trust Fund to over €2.2 billion since 2015, doubling the target originally set.

The coronavirus pandemic has been accompanied by a massive wave of false and misleading information, attempts by foreign actors to influence domestic debates in the EU, breeding on the fertile ground of people’s most basic anxieties and the rapidly changing news cycle. Misleading healthcare information, dangerous hoaxes with false claims conspiracy theories and consumer fraud endanger public health.

The Council approved conclusions on the "Team Europe" package that is part of the EU's global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, the European Commission is announcing a pledge of €300 million to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for the period 2021–2025. It will help immunise 300 million children around the world and finance vaccine stockpiles to shield against outbreaks of infectious diseases.

In the context of World Oceans Day on 8 June, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius and to the Republic of Seychelles is organising, in collaboration with the French Embassy, the AFD and the local branch of the Région Réunion in Mauritius, a free webinar entitled "Innovation and biodiversity: a blue deal for the Indian Ocean?".

Today the European Commission announced an additional €50 million in humanitarian aid to help respond to the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs caused by the Coronavirus pandemic globally. The new funding follows increased appeals by humanitarian organisations, including the UN Global Appeal.

Libreville, le 19 mai 2020 - Face à la pandémie du COVID-19, le projet de l’UE « Transport plus sûr des marchandises dangereuses par route et par voie ferrée dans la région de la Façade atlantique africaine » (SECTRANS AAF), mis en œuvre par Expertise France, met à disposition de tous les pays partenaires francophones un module d’apprentissage à distance visant à lutter contre la pandémie COVID-19. Ce projet relevant par ailleurs de l’Initiative des Centres d’Excellence (CdE) pour la réduction des risques nucléaires, radiologiques, biologiques et chimiques (NRBC) fait l’objet d’un partenariat avec le Gabon depuis 2013.

Representatives of the EU Member States, the Western Balkans and Turkey, the European Commission and the European Central Bank, as well as representatives of the central banks of the Western Balkans and Turkey[1] met for their annual economic policy dialogue[2]. The dialogue aims at preparing the Western Balkans and Turkey for the future participation in the European Semester.

A contact tracing and warning app is voluntarily installed and used to warn users if they have been in proximity for a certain duration to a person who reported to have been tested positive of COVID-19.

The European Commission has published detailed guidance on how coronavirus-related humanitarian aid can be sent to countries and areas around the world that are subject to EU sanctions.

PRESS RELEASE

Islamabad, 8 May 2020

The coronavirus pandemic impacts every country and region of the world and every aspect of our lives. It has reminded us how interconnected we are. Nobody will be safe in any country as long as the pandemic rages in different parts of the world. Respect for all human rights must remain at the heart of fighting the pandemic and supporting the global recovery.

On 4 May, High Representative/Vice-President Borrell held a phone call with the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulaziz Kamilov, to discuss the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, the EU’s support to Uzbekistan in respect of this challenge, the EU-Uzbekistan bilateral agenda, and broader regional issues relating to Central Asia.

On World Press Freedom Day, we pay tribute to the essential role of journalism in upholding online and offline freedom of expression in democratic societies and fostering transparency and accountability. The COVID-19 crisis has brought the importance of the work of the press into sharp relief. In times of uncertainty, more than ever, access to reliable fact-checked information, that is free from undue interference and influence, is crucial and contributes to a more resilient society. It is a matter of concern that the COVID-19 pandemic is being used in some countries as a pretext for imposing undue restrictions on freedom of the press.

Today, the European Commission is proposing €279 million in financial support for Portugal, Spain, Italy and Austria, to provide relief to the population of several regions in these four countries hit by natural disasters in 2019. This funding comes on top of the €800 million for 2020 available under the EU Solidarity Fund.

On International Workers Day on 1 May, the EU’s Myan Ku Emergency Cash Fund transfers the first payments to garment workers who have been suspended or terminated due to the impact the COVID-19 crisis has on Myanmar’s garment sector.

Sao Tomé, le 28 avril 2020 – La flambée de maladie liée au COVID 19 est devenue une pandémie mondiale. Elle a tué des dizaines de milliers de personnes, met à rude épreuve les populations touchées, multiplie les demandes de protection sociale, restreint l’activité des entreprises et perturbe les chaînes d’approvisionnement. Elle aura de profondes conséquences, avec de nouveaux besoins au plan humanitaire, sanitaire et socio-économique. L’UE dans une approche de coopération internationale multilatérale s’est fermement engagée à répondre à l’urgence. L'action collective de l'UE au niveau mondial visera principalement à répondre à la crise sanitaire actuelle et aux besoins humanitaires qui en découlent, à renforcer les systèmes de santé, d'approvisionnement en eau et d'assainissement des pays partenaires, ainsi que les capacités de recherche et de préparation de ces pays face à la pandémie, et à atténuer les conséquences socio-économiques de la crise. Pour soutenir ces actions, l'UE apportera aux pays partenaires au niveau mondial un appui financier de 15,6 milliards EUR dont 3.25 milliards EUR destinés à l’Afrique provenant de ressources existantes de l'action extérieure.

The COVID-19 crisis is affecting us all. Countries around the world are struggling with its effects and experiencing an unprecedented negative economic fallout. Lebanon is no exception: the country is coping with the COVID-19 crisis with limited resources and against the backdrop of a preceding financial and economic crisis.

As part of its plan to support partner countries around the globe, the European Union (EU) is mobilising €350 million to fight against the spread of the coronavirus and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the ASEAN region.

The European Union is joining forces with global partners to kick-start a pledging effort – the Coronavirus Global Response – starting on 4 May 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) and global health organisations have launched a joint call for action to develop fast and equitable access to safe, quality, effective and affordable diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines against coronavirus.

I am proud of sharing the screen today with our partners worldwide, to deliver a message of hope. Hope that we can defeat coronavirus together. And that we can go back to our normal lives, sooner rather than later.

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The European Commission welcomes the adoption by the European Parliament and the Council of the proposal to postpone by one year the date of application of the Medical Devices Regulation. This will allow all key players - Member States, health institutions and economic operators to give priority to the fight against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, forming a key position in the timing of the lifting of confinement measures as Member States return to the road of recovery.

I would first like to thank all our health workers, doctors and researchers who are working around the clock to save lives. I would also like to offer words of support to those who are ill and are fighting the virus as we speak. This pandemic is putting our societies under serious strain. The well-being of each EU member state depends on the well-being of the whole of the EU.

On 21, April, High Representative/Vice-President Borrell held a phone call with the Foreign Minister of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, to discuss the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, the EU’s support to Belarus in light of this challenge, and the wider EU-Belarus agenda.

The Commission has adopted a proposal for a €3 billion macro-financial assistance (MFA) package to ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners to help them to limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The proposal comes on top of the ‘Team Europe' strategy, the EU's robust and targeted response to support partner countries' efforts in tackling the coronavirus pandemic. It represents an important demonstration of the EU's solidarity with these countries at a time of unprecedented crisis.

The EU is taking further urgent measures to make the best use of cohesion policy money to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Council today adopted a second legislative act in less than a month amending the rules on the use of EU structural funds, which underpin EU cohesion policy. These changes allow member states to refocus resources on crisis-related operations.

Brussels, 20/04/2020

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Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the implications of this pandemic in EU foreign affairs and for your strong support to a joint EU response to this global crisis. Because it is really a global crisis which is affecting all geopolitical aspects.

High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell spoke by phone to Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus on Thursday. High Representative Borrell relayed the EU’s strong support to the WHO at this critical moment and reiterated the need to continue working together through the multilateral system to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

On 16 April, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, held a phone call with the Foreign Minister of New Zealand, Winston Peters. They addressed the state of play in combatting the coronavirus pandemic and reviewed the partnership between the EU and New Zealand.

The outbreak and rapid spread of Covid-19 have stretched global public health systems beyond their limits and caused widespread economic, social and humanitarian damage. This virus knows no borders. Tackling it therefore requires strong international leadership, guided by a sense of shared responsibility and solidarity. In fact, only a global victory that fully includes Africa can bring this pandemic to an end.

The EU is taking steps to protect key features of the multilateral trading system.
The Council today gave the go-ahead to the multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement (MPIA), a new system that will allow the EU, together with other participating WTO members, to overcome the current paralysis of the WTO’s Appellate Body and solve trade disputes amongst themselves.

High Representative Josep Borrell tasked the European External Action Service to set up a dedicated task force to temporarily support and facilitate information exchange on national military assistance in support of civilian authorities to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. This is a concrete follow-up of the video conference of Defence Ministers of the EU member States on 6 April.

Libreville, le 14 avril 2020 – Suite au lancement le 27 novembre 2019 par le Gouvernement du Gabon et la DUE du projet «Cap sur l’autonomisation des jeunes au Gabon» financé par l’UE à hauteur d’environ 3,2 milliards FCFA (5 millions d’euros), la DUE a procédé le 1er avril à la signature d’une subvention avec JA GABON, choisie par le Gouvernement gabonais pour la mise en oeuvre de ce projet. A la faveur de la lutte contre le chômage, cette convention va permettre à 16.000 jeunes Gabonais d’accéder à des formations de qualité, et ainsi de développer l’emploi et l’auto-emploi, grâce à la mise en place d’un réseau d’incubateurs à l’échelle nationale.

L'Union européenne a présenté le 8 avril à Bruxelles son plan de riposte globale et d’aide aux pays partenaires face au COVID-19. L'action extérieure de l’UE vise à répondre aux dimensions multiples de la crise, sur le plan sanitaire et humanitaire, notamment par le renforcement des systèmes de santé et d'approvisionnement en eau et assainissement, ainsi que sur le plan socio-économique pour atténuer l’impact sur l’économie et sur les populations.

The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes an unprecedented challenge with very severe socio-economic consequences. We are committed to do everything necessary to meet this challenge in a spirit of solidarity.

The European Union (EU) and its Member States are working with partners around the world to tackle the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and mitigate the effects of the crisis.

The EU will provide overall €92million to Armenia to support immediate and short-term needs

The EU is taking further measures to enable cohesion policy money to be focused on tackling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
EU ambassadors today agreed the Council’s position on a second package of measures in less than a month aimed at freeing up more money from EU structural funds for crisis-related operations. Given the unprecedented challenges facing member states, the proposed changes were endorsed without amendment in order to speed up the legislative process.

EU News 91/2020

The EU has put international cooperation at the forefront of its response to the Coronavirus.
Following an agreement reached between President von der Leyen and Premier Li Keqiang last month, a donation of protective equipment from China to the European Union has now arrived in Rome, Italy.

"We are facing an info-demic with dangerous impact on public health. We’ll continue to tackle disinformation, and coordinate and intensify our efforts with the Member States and with social media platforms" - Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

03/04/2020 - Le Monde - Le Haut représentant pour la politique étrangère et de sécurité de l’Union européenne souligne dans une tribune au « Monde » les trois défis du Covid-19, sanitaire, économique, géopolitique au projet européen

The Commission wants to directly support the healthcare systems of EU Member States in their fights against the coronavirus pandemic through measures that can best be taken at EU level. For this purpose and based on the solidarity principle, the Commission will complement in a fast, flexible and direct way the ongoing efforts at national level.

The first package of measures of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative concentrated on the immediate mobilisation of structural funds, to allow for a prompt response to the crisis. In this regard, a number of very important changes have been introduced that extend the scope of support of the Funds, provide immediate liquidity and give flexibility in programme amendments.

The EU is taking swift action to make available money to help tackle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

30/03/2020 - Several outlets - The contrast between the silence of Europe’s streets and squares and the tumultuous, painful reality in many of its hospitals is heartbreaking. COVID-19 has not only Europe but the entire global community in its grip. It is already clear that the pandemic will reshape our world. But precisely how will depend on the choices that we make today.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, spoke with the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, on Friday. They discussed the coronavirus pandemic, and HR/VP Borrell underlined the importance of cooperation and international solidarity. In light of the global dimension of the challenge, and building on the solidity of the transatlantic partnership, the EU and the US have the capacity to contribute significantly to international efforts to tackle the pandemic.

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Yesterday, I participated at the European Council meeting. It was a long and intense discussion among European leaders, after which we passed a very clear message: that the European Union and its Member States will do everything they can, everything necessary to overcome the coronavirus crisis.

We will do it together, in solidarity and for the benefit and protection of our citizens.

Today, the European Commission has proposed to make €75 million from the EU budget available to help Member States repatriate EU nationals and to increase the budget of the RescEU medical stockpile.

The Government of Yemen, supported by the Saudi-led Coalition, has echoed the call of the UN Secretary General for a ceasefire in Yemen in order to fight the current coronavirus pandemic.

Similarly, the movement Ansar Allah has announced a series of decisions, including the release of members of the Baha'I community, and signalled willingness to engage in de-escalation and to negotiate a comprehensive political agreement.

I would firstly like to thank all those of you who have made this extraordinary session possible under such exceptional circumstances. It is hard to believe quite how much the world has changed since we last met. In the blink of an eye, a virus which emerged on the other side of the world has become a deadly pandemic with tragic consequences for us here in Europe too.

The 17 March videoconference of the Members of the European Council endorsed the 16 March statement of the Eurogroup and invited the Eurogroup to continuously and closely monitor economic and financial developments and to adopt without delay a coordinated policy response to the rapidly evolving situation. To this end, I convened a videoconference of the Eurogroup and Ministers of non-euro-area Member States on 24 March. I am writing to you to share my personal conclusions.

The Council is taking measures to ensure the continuity of its work in the current exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today it agreed on a temporary derogation to its Rules of Procedure to make it easier to take decisions by written procedure.

The European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) convened a ministerial-level video conference on Friday, 20 March 2020 to discuss the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).  The video conference was co-chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, and European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, and Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vivian Balakrishnan and Senior Minister of State for Health and Transport Dr Lam Pin Min.

Today 17 March, Members of the European Council held a videoconference on COVID 19 in order to follow up on previous conclusions of 10 March 2020 together with the ECB President, the President of the Eurogroup and the High Representative.

Today, the Commission offered up to €80 million of financial support to CureVac, a higly innovative vaccine developer from Tübingen, Germany, to scale up development and production of a vaccine against the Coronavirus in Europe.

EU News 53/2020

EU News 46/2020