Hat up in Brussels, European Heads of State and Government emphasized a necessary acceleration of immunization programs.
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The subject did not totally disappear from their discussions, but it had been in the background since this summer. Thursday, December 16, the Pandemic of Covid-19 was again at the heart of the exchanges between the Heads of State and the European Government, who found themselves in Brussels for their last appointment of the year. The appearance of the Omicron Variant, which, to believe the Commission, could become dominant in Europe by mid-January, has come to shove the semblance back to normal on the old continent, allowed by the rise of Vaccination.
“Omicron farted the agenda”, exclaims a diplomat. Thursday morning, indeed, the twenty-seven, who were supposed to address three topics – the health situation, the resilience of the European Union (EU) and the rise in energy prices – have spoken exclusively Covid. “It’s a race against the watch,” commented on Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while the new variant spreads at high speed and vaccination remains the main weapon. Today, 67% of the European population received two injections, but this rate is less than 50% in three countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia), Croatia being barely above (50.4% ) As for the administration of a recall dose, it progresses but, to date, only concerns 18% of Europeans.
“The response” to the variant is “the acceleration of our vaccination programs”, continued Mr. Mitsotakis. The day before, the Greek leader had sent another message, announcing that, now, to come to his country, a PCR test should be presented, which was previously immunized, or not. A decision that returns, in fact, to deny the usefulness of the European health care, put in place to allow its holders to circulate freely within the EU. Thursday, he said that these new constraints would only apply during the Christmas period, “in order to save time and inject as many third doses as possible”.
Individual initiatives
Athens is not alone, in recent days, to have hurt the European health certificate and free movement within the community space. Earlier in December, Portugal and Ireland had already made similar announcements. At the beginning of the week, Rome also decided that vaccinated people will now have to perform a PCR test or a quick test on arrival; The others will, in addition, make a five-day isolation. The Mario Draghi government did not consider it useful to prevent the Commission, neither the neighboring countries, which minimum European coordination would have required.
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