Covid-19 - The EU presents an exit strategy

On 15th April the European Commission and the Council presented the EU COVID19 joint exit strategy, called “European Roadmap towards lifting COVID-19 containment measures”.

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The Roadmap sets out recommendations to Member States, with the goal of preserving public health while gradually lifting containment measures to restart community life and the economy in a coordinated manner, through a combination of accompanying measures.

For the construction equipment industry it is noteworthy to mention lifting of border controls and the re-start of economic activity, with a specific focus on the supply chains.

Restrictions on travel should first be eased between border regions’ for cross-border and seasonal workers, then between European areas with comparably low reported circulation of the virus. External border reopening and access of non-EU residents to the EU should happen in a second stage. Concerning “re-start of the economic activity” the EU recommends a progressive approach which takes into account the sectors that are “essential” to facilitate economic activity (e.g. transport).

The Commission will also create a rapid alert function to identify supply and value chain disruptions, relying inter alia on existing networks such as Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), Clusters, Chambers of Commerce and trade associations, SME Envoys as well as other actors such as the European-level social partners. Best available solutions will be sought to tackle these disruptions, which can have their origin in an asymmetrical lifting of containment measures (inside or outside the EU), the bankruptcy of businesses or third country actor interference.

After lifting the confinement measures, the focus of the EU institutions will be the European recovery strategy, through the next EU budget for the 2021-2027 period. According to Commission President Ms von der Leyen the digitalisation and decarbonisation of the economy will be at the heart of that strategy.