- EU Audit Court: Particularly Vulnerable, Coronavirus Caught EU off Guard
At the onset of the Corona virus outbreak in Europe, EU medical authorities weren't fully equipped to tackle a prolonged pandemic. As per a report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), tasked with identifying and evaluating health hazards, initially misjudged the gravity of the situation.
On January 9, the ECDC issued an assessment suggesting the EU's exposure to the virus was minimal. Around two weeks later, the first confirmed cases emerged within EU borders. It wasn't until March 12, 2020, that the ECDC acknowledged the necessity for immediate action, three days after Italy had already imposed a nationwide lockdown.
Inadequate Testing Strategy
The ECA's report points out the late dissemination of risk assessments, guidelines, and public information. The ECDC's operations were also hampered by the absence of a EU-wide testing strategy and a system to attribute COVID-19 mortalities. This resulted in the compilation of subpar data. The auditors suggest that more consistent methods, such as regular wastewater virus concentration analyses, should have been utilized.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA), responsible for authorizing new medications, generally managed the pandemic well but neglected to encourage EU-based clinical trials.
Learning from the Crisis
"Like numerous other institutions, EU medical authorities were taken aback by the explosive spread of the rapidly advancing Corona virus pandemic," remarks João Leão of the European Court of Auditors. Although the ECDC and EMA ultimately coped with the situation effectively, the pandemic highlighted pre-existing weaknesses and blank spots. Both institutions require reinforcement.
"Four years down the line, the lessons gleaned from the pandemic need to be effectively implemented at EU level to ensure history doesn't repeat itself," Leão adds. The ECA endorses some of the measures initiated since then, such as new drug regulations.
However, the formation of an additional medical agency has introduced further complexity to the organizational framework. In 2021, the European Agency for Crisis Management and Response in Health Emergencies (HERA) was established. According to the ECA, HERA's responsibilities sometimes overlap with those of the ECDC. Consequently, the auditors advocate for close collaboration to prevent redundancy in tasks.
The late realization of the Coronavirus's gravity by the ECDC led to a lack of a EU-wide testing strategy and attribution system for COVID-19 mortalities. Despite the European Medicines Agency managing the pandemic well, they failed to encourage EU-based clinical trials for new medications.
The explosive spread of the Coronavirus highlighting pre-existing weaknesses in EU medical authorities, João Leão suggests that lessons learned from the crisis need to be effectively implemented at EU level to avoid history repeating itself.
