State Secretary for European Affairs Andreja Metelko-Zgombić held a video conference of EU ministers responsible for European affairs. The topic of the conference was “The EU and the Member States' response to the COVID-19 outbreak”, with an emphasis on a horizontal, cross-sectoral overview of measures adopted in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic at the EU and national levels and coping with the impact of the crisis. The Ministers discussed the duration, scope and effectiveness of the measures taken with the view of promoting dialogue and exchanging information and best experience among the Member States, as well as the necessity of respecting the rule of law and the fundamental rights that the EU was founded on. They also discussed a coordinated relaxation and lifting of COVID-19 containment measures so that life, business and the Single Market could return to normal as soon as possible.
In her introduction, Metelko-Zgombić recalled all the efforts made by the EU2020HR and activities at the European level in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from the activation of the Integrated Political Crisis Response (IPCR) enabling close operational cooperation between the Council and the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council; coordination of activities related to the repatriation of EU citizens; holding a number of ministerial video conferences (in almost all configurations of the Council) where activities in the area of health, security, home affairs, transport, education, economy and other have been coordinated and discussed; temporary derogation from Council's rules of procedure has enabled the Council to adopt decisions in these extraordinary circumstances when physical meetings of ministers are not possible, and speedy legislative procedures according to which two packages of measures proposed by the EC have been adopted by the EP and the Council within an unprecedented short time frame.
The state secretary welcomed the “Joint European Roadmap towards Lifting COVID-19 Containment Measures” and the “Roadmap for Recovery”, pointing to the fact that the measures adopted in the Member States are necessary to contain the spread of the virus, but that the restrictive measures represent a major shock for the economy and society. Metelko-Zgombić invited the Ministers to review their national and EU measures in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The Member States exchanged views on relaxing measures at national and European level, on the proportionality of the measures taken in response to the epidemiological crisis, bearing in mind the necessity to respect fundamental rights and the rule of law. The Ministers discussed economic, legal, health and social challenges faced by the Member States in their fight against the pandemic and highlighted the need to stay united and join efforts in coping with this major health, and consequently social and economic crisis as part of the joint European response.
Metelko-Zgombić emphasised that the priority is to help national health systems and urgently reach an agreement on the measures of support to the European economy. "The EU's strength depends on us pooling together all available resources in an inclusive way. We can only overcome this crisis if we act jointly and in solidarity," the state secretary said.