Over the past year, the European Parliament’s Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic (COVI) analysed the impact of the crisis, evaluated the effectiveness of EU and national measures and made specific recommendations to address gaps and weaknesses in their actions. Parliament debated the report on Tuesday and adopted the text on Wednesday by 385 votes in favour, 193 against and 63 abstentions. MEPs outlined a clear roadmap for future action in four main areas: health, democracy and fundamental rights, social and economic aspects, and global response to the pandemic. Key proposals include enhancing the EU’s strategic autonomy for medicines, transparency for joint procurement activities, and stronger parliamentary oversight at both EU and national levels for emergency legislation. MEPs also demand the EU maximise the use of recovery funding to strengthen the single market, and want improved global coordination with the upcoming international pandemic treaty. The detailed recommendations are available here.
EU Parliament