Covid-19: PAN questions Commission on ECA recommendations on mitigation of pandemics and other diseases

Brussels, 16 April 2020- MEP Francisco Guerreiro (PAN) questioned the European Commission on the implementation of the recommendations on the European Court of Auditors (ECA) special report “Dealing with serious cross-border threats to health in the EU: important steps taken but more needs to be done” (No 28/2016).

The report highlights that the European Union (EU) has several weaknesses in its plan to combat pandemics and other cross-border health threats. It also reminds that the EU does not have a community strategy to address possible urgent vaccine shortages and other medical countermeasures. In addition to this, several coordination deficiencies are also identified between the various Commission programs and services, which appear to be obstacles to the management of these health crises.

In this sense, Francisco Guerreiro asked the Commission which of the ECA’s recommendations has the Commission implemented since the report was published (2016) and, therefore, implemented in the EU’s health strategy, and how has the Commission sought to increase cooperation between the EU and Member States in these areas. The MEP also asks what funding has been allocated to implement these recommendations and what programmes or services will be funded from the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework.

“The European Court of Auditors also warned the European Commission in 2016 that its alert and response system needs to be updated to face diseases like Covid-19. It is now necessary to know whether this warning was taken into account and if the ECA’s recommendations that could have mitigated the effects of the virus were applied,” says the MEP.

The ECA report is available here.

See the full question here.

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