Many European countries further "unblocked" (international viewpoint)

  Core reading

  With the slowing down of the new European pneumonia epidemic, countries are speeding up the resumption of production. At the same time, the epidemic situation in some countries rebounded and had to strengthen prevention and control measures again. The analysis believes that Europe needs to work together and strengthen cooperation in order to handle the epidemic prevention and control and restore the balance of the economy.

  From July 1st, the European Union reopened the external border that was closed for nearly four months due to the epidemic, allowing conditional entry of passengers from 15 countries. Johnson, a member of the European Union's internal affairs committee, said that opening up the foreign border is the basis for further restarting the tourism industry and strengthening international business exchanges. Consistent with this initiative, European countries have further relaxed restrictions on personnel exchanges, while strengthening epidemic prevention and control measures to create favorable conditions for revitalizing the European economy.

  Continue to relax control measures

  Most European countries are increasing their efforts to "unblock". French Minister of Health Wei Lang said on the 2nd that the number of patients with new coronary pneumonia hospitalized in France has been declining in the past 10 weeks, and relevant indicators indicate that France has "the epidemic has been controlled."

  Since June 22, France has implemented further "unblocking" measures in areas other than French Guiana, an overseas province. Primary and secondary schools and kindergartens have resumed classes in full, and the kindergarten has abolished the requirement to maintain a one-meter social distance. The government encourages employees to return to work, and requires companies to sterilize the workplace and provide employees with disinfectant, hand sanitizer, etc. At the same time, companies should continue to implement the program of shifting peaks to work in order to avoid the accumulation of employees as much as possible.

  The famous French tourist attraction, the Eiffel Tower, reopened on June 25 to receive tourists. Visitors need to make online reservations to purchase tickets and wear masks to visit. The Louvre will reopen on July 6. Jean-Luc Martine, the general manager of the Louvre, said: "The opening of the museum is just the first step. We look forward to the arrival of international tourists. Their arrival will help the Louvre return to normal operation as soon as possible."

  Belgium has entered the fourth phase of "unblocking" since July 1. Starting from the 1st, people will no longer be required to wear masks when entering the store. The maximum number of family gatherings will be increased from 10 to 15. The swimming pool, movie theater and other places are allowed to reopen. Cultural activities can also be held in public places, but indoors are limited to 200 people and outdoor are limited to 400 people.

  The United Kingdom will also launch the next stage of epidemic prevention "unbonding". From 4th, restaurants, cinemas, museums and art galleries in England have been reopened. In addition, British Transport Minister Grant Shaps announced on the 3rd that from the 10th, passengers from more than 50 low-risk countries such as France, Spain, Germany and Italy will not need to carry out a 14-day self-isolation when entering England.

  Europe’s largest low-cost carrier Irish Ryanair resumed 40% of flights on the 1st, and 90% of its routes covering Europe and North Africa resumed operations. Poland resumed flights from eight non-EU countries including the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Japan and other countries on the 1st, and canceled the restriction of up to 50% passengers on flights. Greece will fully open all domestic airports for international flights from July 1. Greek Prime Minister Mizotakis said that the Greek government has strengthened medical power and will take any possible measures to ensure the health and safety of tourists.

  Facing the rebound challenge

  Some European countries have rebounded. The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a risk assessment report on the 2nd, stating that in most EU countries and the United Kingdom, there are still community outbreaks of the epidemic, and some countries have also seen an increase in the number of newly diagnosed cases or local outbreaks.

  Amon, director of the European Center for Disease Control, said that the epidemic is far from over, and all countries should establish a strong epidemic surveillance mechanism, expand detection capabilities, and track close contacts. "We must all continue to work hard to avoid the spread of the virus and protect those who are prone to serious illness."

  Kluger, director of the European Regional Office of the World Health Organization, pointed out that although the proportion of regional cases in Europe has declined in the global number of cases, in recent times, Europe has reported nearly 20,000 newly confirmed cases and more than 700 cases every day. New cases of death need to be alert to the rebound of the epidemic.

  There are a number of meat processing plants in Germany and the United Kingdom that have clustered outbreaks. Recently, a cluster of new coronavirus infection occurred in a meat factory in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the number of diagnosed infections exceeded 1550. The state announced the implementation of "closing the city" of Gütersloh County and the neighboring counties where the Meat Union Factory is located, affecting about 640,000 residents. Since then, two other meat processing plants in Germany have experienced cluster epidemics. According to British media reports, three meat processing plants in Wales have recently experienced a cluster epidemic. More than 330 people have been diagnosed so far.

  Since the lifting of restrictions in France, a total of 276 cluster infections have been found, 77 of which are still under screening and control. Since June 24, 11 small-scale cluster epidemics have occurred in 8 regions of Italy, and more than 200 infection cases have been detected. "If the spread of the new coronavirus is not controlled, any economic restart is empty talk." Klug warned that if the prevention and control are not strengthened, the health systems of some European countries may be pushed to the brink of collapse again.

  "The virus is still spreading and people must follow the anti-epidemic measures so that not all efforts made so far are lost." Jacques Battistoni, president of the French Federation of General Practitioners, issued an appeal, hoping that people wear masks strictly in public places, Maintain social distance and strictly abide by epidemic prevention requirements in order to truly "turn a new page".

  Promote the establishment of recovery funds

  The epidemic has a serious impact on the European economy and employment. Statistics released by Eurostat on July 2 show that the unemployment rate in the European Union in May was 6.7%, higher than 6.6% in April. The unemployment rate in the euro zone in May was 7.4%, up from 7.3% in April. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently released a report that expects the euro zone economy to contract 10.2% this year.

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the European Commission President Von Delaine appealed jointly on the 2nd, hoping that the EU could reach a consensus on the economic recovery plan as soon as possible. In May this year, Germany and France proposed that the EU establish an economic recovery fund totaling 500 billion euros to help the EU economy recover from the impact of the epidemic. Subsequently, based on the German and French initiatives, the European Commission further proposed to raise funds through debt issuance and set up a “recovery fund” totaling 750 billion euros. This fund is linked to the EU's long-term budget from 2021 to 2027. The funds will be allocated through specific projects in the EU budget, of which about 500 billion euros are free grants and 250 billion euros are provided to applicants in the form of loans.

  At the video summit held by the leaders of the EU and its member states on June 19, due to the different economic impacts of the epidemic on various countries and the existence of structural cracks in the region, all parties concerned about the source and use of this fund The implementation rules such as methods failed to reach consensus. The four countries of Austria, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands have advocated the use of loans for aid rather than free appropriation. Austrian Prime Minister Kurtz insisted that the aid should be refunded, and that aid should not be provided in the form of direct funding, otherwise the aid countries will be in debt.

  Merkel held a meeting with French President Macron recently, and once again called on EU countries to support the establishment of a "strong and effective" recovery fund to help countries' economic recovery. It is reported that EU leaders will participate in the special meeting of the European Council in Brussels from July 17 to 18 to discuss related issues. This will also be the first summit of the EU member states since the outbreak.

  The French "Le Figaro" article pointed out that European countries are eager to press the "restart button" for the economy, but still face shocks such as poor supply chain caused by the epidemic, reduced employment, reduced demand and rebound of the epidemic. In view of this, many European countries have called for strengthening unity within the EU, actively promoting international cooperation in the fight against epidemics, and jointly rebuilding the economy and society after the epidemic.

  (Reported by Brussels, Paris, Berlin, July 5th)