Germany and France have been condemned by other EU members after blocking the export of medical supplies, raising the alarm among smaller countries hit by coronavirus.
Fearing a possible shortage in masks and protective equipment to fight the virus, top European Union officials are urging members to put solidarity above national interests as the disease spreads quickly across the continent.
Speaking Friday after an urgent meeting in Brussels of health ministers from the 27-country bloc, crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic said EU nations are entitled to restrict exports of medical equipment but warned that such decisions could compromise the EU’s ability to manage the growing COVID-19 virus crisis.
Germany and France have been condemned by other EU members after blocking the export of medical supplies, raising the alarm among smaller countries hit by coronavirus. Pictured: tourists wear protective face masks in Vatican City today
On Wednesday, Germany’s interior minister said it had banned the export of medical protection gear such as masks and gloves to ensure local health workers have enough.
President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will requisition all face masks produced there, a de facto export ban, and Czech health minister Adam Vojtech has halted disinfectant exports.
Some EU members – notably Italy, where at least 148 people have died – have been hit harder than others and some ministers think precious protective medical gear should be shared.
‘There are legal grounds that make such measures possible, but these kind of unilateral measures first have to be notified to the union,’ EU crisis management commissioner Jenaz Lenarcic said.
‘They have to be proportionate and even if they are legally possible they carry a risk of undermining our collective approach and our collective capacity to handle this crisis.’
President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will requisition all face masks produced there, a de facto export ban, and Czech health minister Adam Vojtech has halted disinfectant exports
Ministers from many member states agreed.
‘I think that in fact we should show our solidarity, for example in the distribution of protective resources,’ said Belgian health minister Maggie de Block.
‘There are two countries that block all exports and that’s not in the spirit of the EU.’
Dutch minister for medical care Bruno Bruins also chimed in, telling the crisis meeting: ‘In times of scarcity it is even more important to show solidarity, especially within the EU.’
An EU spokesman confirmed France and Germany had notified the European Commission of their decisions, but would not be drawn on whether they meet EU single market rules.
EU officials have stressed the importance of a coordinated response – health commissioner Stella Kyriakides saying she was focused not only on the readiness of individual states but also ‘the need for solidarity’.
German health minister Jens Spahn (pictured) urged his colleagues to try to understand why Berlin, Paris and Italy are acting as they are, given their bigger outbreaks
But German health minister Jens Spahn urged his colleagues to try to understand why Berlin, Paris and Italy are acting as they are, given their bigger outbreaks.
‘I sometimes have the impression that some of you think: ‘Typical, once again the big guys, France, Germany and Italy are going their own way’,’ he said.
‘The reason we are upping the pressure is because the situation is different in our countries than the others. We are in a different phase than those countries who are still detecting and containing cases.
‘Once the outbreak develops inside a country, measures at the border won’t help.’
He said the German decision was an ‘imperfect measure’ and not an export ban as such, but a request for producers to obtain a licence to ship gear that might be better used elsewhere.
French health minister Olivier Veran said: ‘We had seen prices multiplying and items being re-sold on the grey market, believe me, France will not be exempt from showing its duty and will for solidarity.’
Vojtech said supplies of protective suits and masks were limited and that European health workers should be first in line as production is ramped up.
‘We’re trying to negotiate with producers to supply the market, but production is limited. The demand is much higher than the supply worldwide. It is not easy.
‘We don’t have enough protective masks. The problem is that the demand is much higher than the supply. A third of the world’s production of drugs is located in China and also in India.’
The novel coronavirus strain that erupted in China this year and causes the COVID-19 disease has killed more than 3,300 people and infected nearly 100,000 in about 90 nations.
Europe as a whole has not yet been hit as hard as China, but the virus is spreading across the continent and Italy, in particular, has a major outbreak.