The EU’s global response to the COVID-19 Pandemie

COVID-19 affects us all. It does not care who we are, or where we are: everyone is at risk. As long as COVID-19 exists somewhere in the world, no one is safe. All over the world people are losing sources of income and finding themselves unable to provide for themselves and their families. The pandemic is especially worrying for partner countries outside the EU with fragile healthcare systems and economies.

The European Union is already taking comprehensive and decisive action to tackle the destructive impact of COVID-19. Together with our member states, we are adapting priorities and programmes with partner countries to address the crisis.

We are supporting healthcare measures, stepping up testing and research and working on a vaccine.

We are providing crucial support to governments for the delivery of essential social services and providing loan guarantees to boost economic activity and safeguard livelihoods.

We have regional approaches developed to tailor needs in the different areas of the world. The action and solutions we implement today must also help build a better tomorrow. We must do all we can now to make sure that we and our partners are better equipped to withstand future crises. If we act together now, we can emerge stronger tomorrow.

The EU is mobilising more than €15.6 billion for:

1. Emergency response

• providing immediate support to the Response Plans of international organisations,

• providing immediate humanitarian support in affected countries, in particular in health, water, sanitation and hygiene as well as logistics,

• increasing production in Europe of personal protective equipment and medical devices to meet urgent needs in Europe and in partner countries,

• organising the supply of in-kind assistance to affected countries,

• providing guarantee and liquidity provisions to local banks via International Financial Institutions and European Development Finance Institutions,

• supporting global efforts to provide sufficient supply of essential goods, food and water, measures to combat export restrictions and ensure supply chains remain intact, notably for essential medical supplies and pharmaceuticals

2. Supporting healthcare systems and the response to the pandemic in partner countries

What is the EU doing:

• strengthening the preparedness and response capacities of countries with fragile healthcare systems and providing critical medical supplies and equipment; this has been a successful approach in recent outbreaks of Ebola and Zika,

• providing protective equipment for health workers in the most vulnerable countries, both directly and through the World Health Organization’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan,

• helping to train public health workers in epidemiological surveillance and the use of mobile labs,

• strengthening regional epidemiological surveillance and disease control institutions in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific,

• supporting communication and awareness efforts on basic protective measures and hygiene advice to prevent the spread.

3. Economic response

Budget support will allow governments to deliver essential services and loan guarantees to boost economic activity and safeguard livelihoods

What is the EU doing:

• re-orientating support to national governments via direct and financing (on-going programmes in 90 countries and territories, including neighbourhood countries), to shore up the economy and allow governments to continue to deliver vital health services,

• access to loans and guarantees, despite the crisis situation,

• supporting the private sector through loan guarantees, technical assistance and increased access to liquidity support, working capital and trade finance.