The rapid spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant across Europe has added a sense of urgency to an EU summit taking place this Thursday, with leaders struggling to present a united approach towards tackling the new strain of the virus.
Projections that the mutated and highly infectious Covid strain could be dominant in the European Union as early as next month have pushed the issue to the top of today’s summit agenda, igniting fears of a health crisis.
The summit will also tackle other big topics pressing hard on EU capitals, in particular the Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s border.
That risk dominated a meeting on Wednesday between EU leaders and their neighbouring eastern European counterparts, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The ongoing confrontation with Belarus over an influx of migrants testing the EU’s borders and spiking energy prices aggravating inflation will also be discussed at the high-level talks.
Today’s summit is the last before France takes over the rotating six-month European Union presidency from Slovenia in the New Year.
Europe is bracing for an Omicron winter, with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen saying on Wednesday: “We’re told that by mid-January, we should expect Omicron to be the new dominant variant in Europe.”
The timing is perilous. Although many EU countries are in the global vanguard in terms of vaccination rates, the roll-out is patchy across the 27-nation bloc.
Nine EU countries have vaccination rates below 60 percent.
Omicron’s apparent ability to mute the effects of existing vaccines has galvanised efforts to get booster shots into arms.
However the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has warned jabs alone now would not be enough, given that Omicron infections double around every two days.
While some hope — based on initial data from South Africa, where Omicron is already dominant — the new strain produces milder symptoms than the Delta variant, mathematical modelling suggested its infectious nature could overwhelm hospitals.
The draft summit conclusions stress that “rolling out vaccinations to all and deploying booster doses are crucial” while also maintaining cross-EU coordination.
The united front, however, is visibly weakening.
Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Greece have all tightened entry restrictions for EU arrivals by requiring PCR tests even of vaccinated travellers.
Their measures appeared to undermine the rules of an EU Covid certificate that since July has ensured easy intra-EU travel without quarantine or tests for the vaccinated.
While EU countries can suspend some of the rules in health emergencies, they need first to notify Brussels 48 hours in advance.
A European Commission spokesman said Italy did not do so.
An EU source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday: “Italy has a very high vaccination rate. I can understand why member states are taking very strong measures to combat the virus.”
He reckoned that should vaccines be needed specifically to combat Omicron “my guess is they are only available in the second quarter,” between April and June next year.
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