‘We must remain vigilant’ Charles Michel

The message from the European Council summit is that Europe must remain vigilant. Vaccination campaigns across Europe have brought progress in the fight against COVID-19, but there is a recognition that there is still a problem with vaccine hesitancy, in particular, in Romania and Bulgaria where the vaccination rates have been low. 

Charles Michel said that disinformation had to be tackled, particularly on social media platforms. 

There is ongoing work to accelerate recognition of certificates, with one important development being the recent decision of the United States to lift restrictions for vaccinated EU citizens as of 8 November, 2021.

In its conclusions, the European Council also called on the experiences of the COVID-19 crisis to strengthen the EU’s preparedness for future health emergencies and the conclusions of negotiations on the new Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).

In the context of the upcoming G20 meeting and in view of the special session of the World Health Assembly in November, the European Council underlines its support for a strong, central role for the World Health Organization in future global health governance and for the objective of agreeing an international treaty on pandemics.

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