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Legislators demand greater EU COVID-19 response

A bailiff of the European Parliament wearing protective mask and gloves works during a mini plenary session of European Parliament in Brussels, on April 16, 2020 amid the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jerome Hughes
Press TV, Brussels

EU lawmakers call on the 27-nation bloc's governments to up their game in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. There are growing divisions in the EU with respect to the health, social and economic aspects of the crisis.

Many EU nations are currently experiencing very pleasant weather conditions but beaches remain eerily quiet and police are on patrol to ensure it stays that way. In Brussels, legislators have been discussing the economic consequences of COVID-19 with policy-makers. Some were present in the European Parliament while others took part via video link. 

So far the EU has come up with an economic rescue package worth 540 billion euros but many argue it's not enough. 

The Coronavirus death toll in the European Union continues to rise but there are signs that lockdown measure are working. 

Economists are skeptical that EU citizens can endure another decade of austerity once the health emergency is over. 

The EU has plenty of its own problems. That was made clear when a spokesperson for the European Commission was asked to comment on an announcement by Donald Trump that he wants to ban all immigrants from entering the United States. 

EU leaders will hold a videoconference on Thursday which is set to be very heated given their major policy differences relating to the economy and how lockdown restrictions should be lifted. 

The decisions European Union leaders now take or shy away from will fundamentally restructure the EU project, according to many of the legislators here. In other words, they suggest, this virus will either kill or cure the EU.


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