EU ministers propose Covid-19 support for neighbouring countries

EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs are assessing the possibility of setting up an EU humanitarian air bridge to facilitate the delivery of medical supplies and transportation of healthcare staff to partner non-EU countries. In a meeting chaired by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, the 27 ministers agreed that the pandemic raises a series of international issues that impacts the Union.

The initiative is directed specifically at Eastern European Partners including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

Josep Borrell said that foreign affairs ministers want to assist neighbouring countries in fighting the outbreak: “We discussed how to better support Ukraine and other countries in the Eastern partnership in times of Covid-19 pandemic. Our message to them is clear, we will keep helping them in these challenging times.”

The humanitarian air bridge is envisaged as part of the €20 billion ‘Team Europe’ package designed to support people most at risk such as children, the elderly and disabled people in vulnerable countries in the EU’s neighbourhood – the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partner countries – as well the Middle East, Africa, parts of Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.