Coronavirus hits the Brussels bubble

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Coronavirus hits the Brussels bubble

By Jim Brunsden

March 5, 2020

EU parliament chiefs have decided to go ahead with this month’s session in Strasbourg, but underneath the show of normality is a creeping realisation of how much the coronavirus outbreak could disrupt the bloc’s business.

The bar for cancelling Strasbourg is high given French sensitivities over its status as an EU capital (and the financial pickle that would cause).

The last time it was called off, in 2008, was because of the partial collapse of the parliamentary chamber’s ceiling. But the prospect of MEPs making their regular pilgrimage to Alsace does not mean it is business as usual for the EU.

So far there have been two confirmed cases of EU civil servants with coronavirus, which came to light on Wednesday. One is an official who works at the Council of the European Union in Brussels, while the other is a staffer at the European Defence Agency.

In an internal email to staff, the council said that it was “identifying the people with whom the colleague has been in close contact in the workplace since 4 days before the onset of symptoms”. The institution said it was “also identifying locations...where the colleague was present and ensuring appropriate cleaning. There should be no disruption to the work of our institutions,” the council insisted.

But the cases inside the institutions are only a small part of the challenge the virus poses to the smooth running of EU business.

Covid-19 cases have now been confirmed in virtually all EU member states. Italy remains Europe’s worst affected country, with more than 3,000 cases confirmed.

EU officials worry that Brussels’ work is highly vulnerable to the travel restrictions and other measures that public authorities across the bloc might take in the coming weeks to slow down the infection rate.

The council, for example, is an institution that is all about the organisation of meetings, many of which require people to travel from national capitals. It hosts thousands of meetings a year, with participants ranging from regulatory technocrats to ministers.

Brussels is also this week playing host to around 100 British officials. They have spent the past two days holed up in a conference centre with their EU counterparts, navigating the first round of future relationship negotiations.

The UK government and the European Commission have agreed on an intensive rhythm of talks, with rounds every two to three weeks, alternating between Brussels and London. So far the main precaution taken has been to not shake hands. 

Officials underline that at the moment there are no plans to postpone those negotiation rounds. The same goes for ministerial meetings in the council and other important business. EU foreign ministers, for example, are meeting in Croatia today to discuss the fighting in Syria. A special meeting of health ministers has been called in Brussels on Friday precisely to tackle the spread of the virus.

The European Parliament said earlier this week that “core functions” such as committee meetings would be maintained — only less essential matters such as visitor groups and cultural events were cancelled. But Brussels knows restrictions will have to be ratcheted up if the virus continues to spread.

jim.brunsden@ft.com; @jimbrunsden