Covid-19: PAN MEP questions whether Europe knows more about the coronavirus

Brussels, 23 March 2020 - MEP Francisco Guerreiro (PAN) questioned the European Commission (EC) on the existence of complementary information regarding the alleged failure of the Chinese government to share data with international entities, at the beginning of the Coronavirus contagion in Hubei province. 

According to some media, the first report on virus contamination occurred on 17 November, but data were only reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) at the end of December. In this sense, the MEP also questioned whether restrictions or bilateral sanctions by the European Union (EU) will be applied to the People's Republic of China if the omission of sharing information about the virus to international health and government bodies is proven to be deliberate. 

“In China, we see that there is a lack of sanitary control and food hygiene that can once again jeopardize world stability, so it will be essential for the EU, the international community and WHO to ensure the definitive end of exotic animal trade in Chinese markets,” concludes Francisco Guerreiro.

In parallel, the Commission was also questioned on its position about the trade of exotic animals in the country. This question follows on from various data that indicate that the outbreak of COVID-19 may have started in a wet market in Hubei, where exotic animals are legally traded.

According to WHO, in November 2002, it was in southern China, in Guangdong province, that the SARS-CoV epidemic began. Like COVID-19, this outbreak has also been linked to the consumption of exotic animals, namely bats. In the two years of greatest outbreak, 2002 and 2003, the epidemic spread to other countries, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing 774 individuals. 

China is the European Union's second largest trading partner, followed by the United States of America. The EU is the People's Republic of China's largest partner. There is currently a 10-point commitment between the EU and China, regarding the process of an investment agreement between blocks that started in 2013, which establishes points of convergence and greater transparency. The questions raised by the PAN MEP also focus on the future of that agreement.

“The end of negotiations between the EU and China to conclude an investment agreement is scheduled for this year, so it is with concern that we see the possibility that Beijing has omitted information from its international partners regarding the start of the COVID-19 outbreak,” says MEP Francisco Guerreiro. 

Francisco Guerreiro explains that it is suspected that “China tried to cover up the existence of an outbreak of a new coronavirus, when there was already a large number of infected people and, as such, did not inform the competent international entities, nor did it take the necessary actions to contain the virus in a timely manner,” he says.

“It would be appropriate for the Commission to take warning and/or sanction measures towards third countries whose actions have repercussions on the well-being and health of European citizens,” the MEP adds.

The PAN MEP also questions whether the institution plans to urge China on the need to impose effective food hygiene and safety standards and to ban the trade of exotic animals, given that it is believed that Covid-19 originated in exotic animal markets. 

Here is the MEP’s full question:

– Since this is not the first international disease outbreak in recent decades thought to originate from such markets, will the Commission continue to refrain from interfering actively and critically on issues which touch on the cultural sensitivities of certain nations, but which have obvious negative cross-border implications for human health and well-being?

– Given that the safety and stability of the EU is at stake, does the Commission plan to warn China of the need to impose effective food hygiene and safety standards and ban the trade in exotic animals?

– Will the Commission speak out against the Chinese Government for allegedly failing to inform international organisations of the outbreak in its first few weeks, when a large number of people had already been infected, and condemn such behaviour if proven to be true?

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