GERMAN PRESIDENCY: I. EUROPE’S RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

We must support each other in the European Union with European solidarity in action and pool our resources, whether with coordinated aid deliveries of medical supplies, mutual support in treating patients or in upholding and safeguarding supply chains.

We want to overcome the pandemic together and in a coordinated fashion. We will work to ensure that we gradually lift the restrictions imposed in the Schengen area as a result of the pandemic, taking into account the epidemiological situation. We want to return to regular processes in a coordinated manner also with a view to the protection of our external borders and with regard to visa procedures. We want to lift the crisis-related restrictions in cross border transport and for the single market in a coordinated and gradual way in order to create the conditions for economic recovery.

The European Union’s ability to take political action and reach decisions on the basis of orderly procedures must – also under difficult conditions – be safeguarded; we will also work to ensure this during our Presidency.

Sustainable economic and social recovery

We will place measures to overcome the social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic at the centre of our efforts. To this end, we want to pursue a sustainable and inclusive growth strategy that seeks to strengthen the economy and safeguard jobs as well as to promote Europe’s social cohesion. We are committed to ensuring that the transition to a sustainable economy on the basis of the European Green Deal is accomplished and that the digital transformation plays a key role in this regard. Strengthening the single market is key to recovery. We are committed to the rapid establishment of a temporary recovery instrument with a specific focus, one that is embedded within the multiannual financial framework (MFF) and implemented within the framework of the European Semester. The future MFF will make a major contribution to supporting recovery in the long term as we invest in the future of our continent. The EU Structural Funds are important elements in this regard for cushioning the economic and social repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and for stimulating economic recovery in the regions. We want to conclude the legislative acts to this end during our Council Presidency so that the funds for this are available as soon as possible.

A decisive precondition for recovery in Europe is the economic recovery of European enterprises. We want to improve their resilience and competitiveness and to strengthen strategic European value chains. This applies to industrial production, and to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular. Consumer policy is likewise an integral part of the strategy for economic recovery. We attach great importance to keeping markets open and to strengthening trade and investment on the basis of international, enforceable rules and are strongly opposed to protectionism and trends targeted towards renationalisation. The temporary adjustment of the framework for state aid as an important element of economic crisis management should be assessed on an ongoing basis in order to ensure a level playing field both within and outside the EU. Protecting EU citizens is our number-one priority. Particularly in times of crisis we have an obligation to live up to this responsibility with a sustainable social and employment policy in a spirit of solidarity. We welcome the fact that the European Social Fund (ESF) is also to be strengthened with funds from the economic recovery fund. We want now to systematically implement priorities of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) that are relevant to crisis management. These include the development of an EU framework for national minimum income protection systems, an EU framework for minimum wages and strengthening the role played by social partners. Furthermore, we want to work together with the European Commission and our EU partners to tackle unemployment and youth unemployment in the EU head on the basis of a European Social Fund Plus that is capable of taking action. The pandemic is turning the spotlight on the vulnerabilities of global supply chains and the people working in them. A comprehensive risk management system for enterprises that is in line with the global agenda for sustainability can help to increase the resilience of supply chains. Greater support for partner countries in the area of development cooperation policy is also necessary. We are committed to an EU action plan to strengthen corporate social responsibility in global supply chains that promotes human rights, social and environmental standards and transparency, and which takes the experiences and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic into account. This supports the coherent implementation of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights of the United Nations and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Drawing the right conclusions for Europe from the crisis

We must learn from our experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic and work together to lay the groundwork to ensure that the EU is even better able to respond to future challenges. To this end, we commit to improving the EU’s crisis management instruments. This includes the Integrated Political Crisis Response (IPCR), the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), the Health Security Committee (HSC) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), as well as pandemic prevention with a cross-system exchange of information. In the case of health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen that measures require sound epidemiological support. We want to strengthen the ECDC by improving forecasting capabilities, creating a comparable database of Member States and developing a digital early warning system. The new healthcare instrument within the framework of the economic recovery fund will also play an important role with a view to achieving these objectives. We are striving to create an EU-wide contact tracing and warning system with the help of cross-border, interoperable tracing and warning apps utilising a minimum level of data whose use is on a voluntary basis and which must be in line both with data protection legislation and stringent IT security standards.

We want to strengthen the EU’s Disaster Risk Management and pursue the further development of rescEU and the EU Civil Protection Pool. We will, to this end, promote the establishment and expansion of an EU knowledge network on disaster risk reduction in order to foster the cooperation between the various disaster risk authorities and services of the Member States. Moreover, as part of a lessons learned process, we want to evaluate during our Council Presidency how the Emergency Support Instrument (ESI) has performed and whether it can be deployed in an even more targeted and coordinated manner in the future. We should strengthen the EU’s ability to take action and shape events with European sovereignty in mind, particularly in strategic areas of industrial production in Europe. During our Council Presidency, we will therefore discuss approaches to further improving the supply of pharmaceuticals, medical products and personal protective equipment in the healthcare sector. Together with the Member States, we want to reach agreement on tangible measures to achieve greater autonomy in the EU with respect to safeguarding the supply of medicines. It is particularly important to us to ensure the quality of agents, as well as a higher level of transparency and diversification of supply chains and European cooperation in the expansion of the production of agents for critical medicines. We also want to assess whether the Joint Procurement Agreement (JPA) can be better deployed for preparedness planning with a view to improving the speed of our response to supply bottlenecks as they arise. We want to strengthen the agricultural and food industry in its capacity as an essential sector with a view to safeguarding supplies of agricultural products and food for Europe’s population. European research and development play a key role in the prevention of and efforts to overcome healthcare crises. We are therefore committed to making the European Research Area even more dynamic and targeted in a spirit of solidarity with respect to tackling the pandemic. Moreover, we want to discuss how the EU ERAvsCorona Action Plan can be further developed. We want to strengthen the single market and also to develop mechanisms that improve its resilience in crisis situations. The EU should be more resolute in its opposition to market distortions caused by state-controlled and subsidised companies from third countries. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, this also applies to the protection of European companies that could be the target of takeovers. In the Council, we want to hold discussions on how EU regulations regarding public procurement can be tailored even more effectively to future emergencies and overcoming economic crises in order to promote sustainable growth. With regard to cooperation in the Schengen area, we want to launch a debate with the objective of safeguarding the unimpeded functioning of the Schengen area by improving the coordination between the Member States in times of crisis and by strengthening common external borders. In the area of the judiciary, the issue of access to justice – especially in the digital domain – has a taken on a new dimension owing to the COVID-19 pandemic also at the EU level and is an issue that we will address during our Presidency. Moreover, it has become clear that looking after especially vulnerable people is bound up with particular challenges in times of crisis. We will therefore lend our active support to the new EU Strategy for Victims’ Rights announced by the European Commission. Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic give rise to a particular need for information among the population. We are therefore committed to strengthening the resilience of societies in dealing with false and misleading information on the internet in order to counteract the polarisation of public debates – also by external actors as well as targeted disinformation. We want to discuss this in the Council in connection with the Commission’s EU Democracy Action Plan. Safeguarding the freedom of opinion and media diversity continues to be essential.

Our international responsibility in the COVID-19 pandemic

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU is called upon to an unprecedented extent also around the world to demonstrate its ability to act as well as its responsibility as a strong international partner in a spirit of solidarity. We support the Team Europe approach with close European and international cooperation and coordination for the comprehensive and joint efforts of all EU institutions and Member States to successfully get to grips with the repercussions of the crisis. Germany will work resolutely to ensure its strategic operationalisation as well as its effective, tangible implementation. In line with the integrated approach, our efforts must encompass all phases of conflict as well as close cooperation with all relevant actors. Continued close coordination with the United Nations (UN), the World Bank (WB) and regional development banks is necessary with a view to overcoming development and food policy challenges. We want to continue to expand the active role played by the EU in global healthcare as well as our contribution to food security and, in particular, to strengthen multilateral organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), in addition to joint platforms with business and civil society. A coordinated approach to safeguarding fair access to and the transparent distribution of COVID-19 diagnostic tests, vaccines and therapeutic drugs based on epidemiological criteria in particular is of paramount importance. We are supporting these efforts by, among other things, strengthening the WHO as well as expanding the ACT Platform (Access to COVID-19 Tools). In the context of tackling the pandemic, we will place a particular focus on the long-term optimisation of the EU’s external crisis prevention and response capabilities. This also comprises improved and more resilient structures and processes, as well as tangible projects in the area of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). At the same time, the EU’s comprehensive security policy engagement as an anchor of stability must be maintained in view of the destabilising impact of COVID-19 on pre-existing conflicts. We must ensure that its operations and missions continue to be carried out to the greatest possible extent, taking into account the necessary regulations