European Council President Charles Michel pleaded Tuesday October 27 for recognition of rapid tests in the EU and coordination on vaccines, two days before a summit on the Covid-19 pandemic.
"
We now need determined action, necessarily of European scope, based on two pillars: testing / tracing, and vaccines,
" he said in a text posted on the internet.
Read also: Reimbursement, target audience: all you need to know about rapid antigenic tests
Charles Michel is particularly in favor of coordinating the approval of rapid (antigenic) tests "in
order to guarantee their recognition at European level
".
He wants their production to be "
assured on a European scale so that they are available everywhere at the same time
".
Mr. Michel also asks for "
interoperability of contact tracing and alerting applications
" as well as "
common rules for isolation and quarantine
".
Regarding vaccines, the President of the Council wants "
criteria for distribution between European countries
" and the definition of "
priority groups
" which would include in particular the most vulnerable (elderly, chronically ill ...) and health personnel.
"
In short, it is a Union of tests and vaccines that we need,
" he said.
“
This crisis has already shown that no country can get by on its own.
Europe brings irreplaceable added value
”.
Read also: Green light for rapid tests for targeted screening operations
EU heads of state and government are due to meet on October 29 for a videoconference summit to take stock of the Covid-19 epidemic.
They had indicated their intention to return "
regularly to this question
" of the coronavirus in their conclusions at the last summit on October 15 and 16.
Struck by the second wave of the pandemic, European countries have increased restrictions in recent days to curb contamination.