The EU will commit € 100 million for the purchase and distribution of rapid tests for member states.

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SYSPEO / SIPA

Even more tests.

On Wednesday the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU would commit € 100 million to the purchase and distribution of rapid antigenic tests to try to stem the new outbreak of Covid-19.

These tests will be distributed to the Member States "and we are launching a joint procurement procedure in order to obtain more", declared the head of the European executive in a speech to the press.

Antigen tests, which perform less well than current PCR tests, do not require laboratory analysis, and the result can be known in 10 to 30 minutes.

They “can play an important role, but we will propose an EU-wide approach to approval and use.

It is only then that there will be mutual recognition of the tests and the results of the tests, ”insisted Ursula von der Leyen, describing the pandemic situation as“ very serious ”.

Better sharing of health data between member states

Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, had also pleaded Tuesday to coordinate the approval of rapid tests and guarantee their production "on a European scale so that they are available everywhere".

On the eve of a videoconference summit of heads of state and government of the Twenty-Seven, Ursula von der Leyen once again called for better sharing of health data between states on the data platform linked to the ECDC ( European Center for Disease Prevention and Control).

"It will help us, for example, to know where there is capacity in the intensive care units" or if transfers of patients across borders "can be arranged when necessary", she argued. .

The Commission, which intends to coordinate national vaccination strategies, is proposing to extend VAT exemptions for the purchase of vaccines and screening kits by six months.

Harmonize the rules for travelers across Europe

Ursula von der Leyen called once again to harmonize the rules for travelers across Europe, notably by developing a "common EU passenger tracking form".

It also proposes "to extend the reserved lanes, hitherto limited to road freight, in favor of rail, air and inland waterway transport" so as not to disrupt trade within the Union.

Finally, it calls for increased communication between national tracking applications, inviting all States to link the applications to the recently launched European portal.

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