Update on EU's response to the COVID-19 crisis

Please find below the latest update on the EU’s response to the COVID-19 crisis received from Orgalim via EFCEM:

1.EU guidance for a safe return to the workplace
On 24 April, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) published a guidance document on the return to work after the lockdown period. The document covers several areas:

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• Risk assessment and appropriate measures
• Involving workers
• Taking care of workers who have been ill
• Planning and learning for the future
• Staying well informed
• Information for sectors and occupations

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, EU-OSHA already published guidance for workplaces. It compiled information and advice available on the coronavirus outbreak.

2.Outcome of European Council held on 23 April 
 
The European Council made several steps towards the adoption of an overarching plan to bring the EU back on track following the COVID-19 crisis. The Heads of States and Governments

• Welcomed the Joint European Roadmap towards lifting of COVID-19 containment measures, which is the Commission and European Councils President attempt to design a coordinated “exit strategy” between the EU and the Member States .
• Welcomed the Joint Roadmap for Recovery presented by the European Council President the day before, which can be considered as a general framework for the future Recovery Plan.
• Endorsed the package - and asked for it to be operational on 1 June - prepared by the Eurogroup on 9 April 2020, that consists of
  • A jobless reinsurance plan (SURE) worth €100 billion
  • A credit line of up to 2 percent of each Eurozone Member State’s economic output (for a total of €240 billion) coming from the European Stability Mechanism - ESM- if it is used for “health care related costs” and
  • A fund set up by the European Bank of Investment (EIB Group) in loans for companies that are struggling with cash (€200 billion)
• Agreed to further work towards establishing a Recovery Fund, which they considered as “needed and urgent”. There was no agreement on its amount, but the Fund should be “of a sufficient magnitude, targeted towards the sectors and geographical parts of Europe most affected”, and be dedicated to the COVID 19 crisis. The Commission was asked to analyse the exact needs and to urgently come up with a proposal
• Asked the Commission to clarify in its proposal the link between the Recovery Fund and its new proposal on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) “which in any event will need to be adjusted to deal with the current crisis and its aftermath” 

The Commission proposals are expected on 6 May. Whereas no figure was agreed upon, the Commission President Ms von der Leyen stated that the MFF ceiling should rise from the current 1.2 percent of Gross National Income (GNI) to around 2 percent of GNI for the first two or three year ​