“We are ready. In the event of a new military aggression, the cost to be paid by Russia will be very high and there will be serious consequences,” said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday night.
In a charged summit, the last one before France assumes the rotating presidency of the EU for six months, the agenda is completed with the confrontation with Belarus over migratory flows to Europe and the increase in energy prices, which aggravates inflation.
On the health front, when it seemed that the vaccination campaigns promoted in many European countries indicated a certain appeasement, Europe is preparing for a winter dominated by the omicron variant.
“Science tells us that we should expect Omicron to be the dominant new variant in Europe by mid-January.”, advirtió Von der Leyen.
The issue of compulsory vaccination, which they are preparing to impose in Austria and Germany, can also be addressed. However, applying this measure will be a decision of each country, and not a community decision.
The draft of the conclusions of the summit indicates that “the administration of vaccines for all and the doses of booster are crucial”.
Still, this “is not enough” to curb transmissions and lighten the burden on healthcare systems, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned on Wednesday.
Noting that infections of the new variant double every two days, this organism points to the rapid reintroduction of measures such as teleworking, the use of a mask or the limitation of capacity in transport or public spaces.
In addition, the summit should seek some coordination in the travel limitations within the EU. In July, the bloc launched a European health passport with which vaccinated citizens could travel inside the block without tests or quarantines.
However, countries like Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Greece tightened entry restrictions from member states, requiring PCR tests even for vaccinated visitors.
The European Commission recalled that these unilateral measures must be “proportionate” and of as short a duration as possible.
Source From: Ambito
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