Fourth COVID wave generates new unilater • Table.Briefings

Yesterday’s EU summit was supposed to be about a coordinated approach by the member states to the pandemic. Yet, some countries are already implementing their own measures. The Commission fears a „fragmentation“ of the rules.

When the first pandemic wave hit Europe in the early 2020s, the European Union’s member states relied on border closures. Despite the realization that the virus does not stop at any national border and that border closures between EU member states are not effective, similar reactions have occurred time and again. During the third wave last spring, Germany imposed strict controls at its borders with the Czech Republic and Austria to slow the spread of the then-new Delta virus variant. The dispute over the right approach, first to COVID apps and later to vaccination certificates, also divided member states.

Fourth COVID wave generates new unilateral action by member states

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