Small group of foreign ministers meet to co-ordinate enhanced COVID-19 response

On 15 February, in the COVID-19 Global Action Meeting, convened by US Secretary of State Blinken and gathering the EU, represented by Commissioner Urpilainen, and other partner countries, participants discussed a ‘COVID-19 Global Action Plan'. The objective is to help co-ordinate actions and mobilize resources in six priority areas in relation to the global COVID-19 response to bring an end to the pandemic by the end of 2022.

High Representative and Commission Vice President Josep Borrell (pictured) said: “We fully endorse the COVID-19 Global Action Plan presented today and are determined to play a leading role to ensure its successful implementation. With 1.8 billion doses of vaccines made in Europe delivered to 165 countries and €46 billion mobilized to tackle the health and socio-economic impact of the crisis, the EU has demonstrated its leadership and ability to make a decisive contribution to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. As there is still a long way to go, we are ready and willing to do more, together with our global partners.”

International Partnerships Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen said: “Since the outbreak, the EU has been a global leader in responding to COVID-19. Just last week, and ahead of the AU-EU Summit, the European Commission has announced an additional support of €125 million for vaccines deployment in Africa. It is crucial to bring together all of those who can make a real difference in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. We welcome the Global Action Plan which will contribute to co-ordinate international efforts and the EU will play its part.”

The EU and its member states, acting as Team Europe, have been at the forefront of efforts to tackle the pandemic globally and are committed to co-lead this Global Action Plan, in line with the ongoing Team Europe response to the pandemic. The EU will remain active in all six priority areas and specifically offered to co-lead with partners to coordinate actions to tackle vaccine hesitancy and combat disinformation, get shots in arms, bolster supply chain resilience and strengthen the global health security architecture. More information is available in the press release, the factsheets on Team Europe's global response to COVID-19, on the EU-Africa Global Gateway Investment Package - Health and on the Europe-Africa Global Gateway Investment Plan.

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