Discussions on the spread of Omicron are expected to be at the top of the EU summit agenda.
Omicron’s lightning spread in Europe and elsewhere has added a sense of urgency to an EU summit on Thursday, with leaders scrambling to present a united approach across the bloc.
Projections that the highly infectious, mutated Covid strain could be dominant in the EU as of next month have brought the issue to the top of the agenda and sparked fears of a health crisis.
The summit will also address other big issues pressing hard on EU capitals, notably the Russian military build-up that could herald an invasion of Ukraine.
That risk dominated a meeting Wednesday between EU leaders and their neighboring Eastern European counterparts, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
An ongoing confrontation with Belarus over migration flows that test EU borders and rising energy prices exacerbating sky-high inflation round out the high-level talks.
It all turns into a charged summit, the last one before France assumes the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union from Slovenia in the New Year.
An Omicron winter
Europe is bracing for an Omicron winter, and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday: “We were told that by mid-January, we should expect Omicron to be the new dominant variant in Europe.”
The moment is dangerous. Although many EU countries are at the global forefront in terms of vaccination rates, deployment is spotty across the 27-nation bloc.
Nine EU countries have vaccination rates below 60 percent.
Omicron’s apparent ability to silence the effects of existing vaccines has galvanized efforts to bring booster injections to the arms.
But the EU health agency ECDC warned on Wednesday that hits alone now would not be enough, given that Omicron infections double every other day.
“There will be no time to address the vaccination gaps that still exist,” said Andrea Ammon, director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
“The next few months will be difficult,” acknowledged the EU health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides.
Crumbling coordination
While some hopes, based on initial data from South Africa, where Omicron is already dominant, the new strain produces milder symptoms than the Delta variant, mathematical models suggested that its sheer infectivity could overwhelm hospitals.
The draft conclusions of the summit, seen by AFP, emphasize that “the deployment of vaccines for all and the deployment of booster doses are crucial” while maintaining coordination between the EU.
However, the united front is visibly weakening.
Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Greece have tightened entry restrictions for arrivals to the EU by requiring CRP tests even for vaccinated travelers.
His measures appeared to undermine the rules of an EU Covid certificate that since July has ensured easy travel within the EU without quarantine or testing for those vaccinated.
While EU countries may suspend some of the rules in health emergencies, they must first notify Brussels 48 hours in advance.
A spokesman for the European Commission said Italy did not.
An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted to journalists that, for EU capitals, “sometimes you need to make a very quick decision” when faced with an emergency.
“Italy has a very high vaccination rate. I can understand why the member states are taking very strong measures to combat the virus,” he said.
He said the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine was the most popular in the EU, adding that if vaccines were needed specifically for Omicron, “I assume they will only be available in the second quarter”, between April and June next year.
(AFP)
