The Cyprus Presidency has called for an extraordinary video conference of EU Health Ministers on June 5, in response to the escalating Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, according to a spokesperson who briefed the press in Brussels.
A Presidency spokesperson stated that “the Cyprus Presidency has been closely monitoring the Ebola situation from the outset and planning accordingly.” The spokesperson added that the decision was made to convene an emergency video conference of Health Ministers on Friday, June 5, at 15:00 Brussels time “to address the recent Ebola outbreak in Central Africa and discuss further preparedness and coordination measures among Member States.” An additional exchange of views is also expected during the upcoming EPSCO Council on June 16.
Also, the Cyprus Presidency decided to activate the Integrated Political Crisis Response Mechanism (IPCR) in “monitoring mode” as a preventive measure to facilitate the exchange of information about the outbreak, solely as a means to support information flow between the EU Member States.
This decision follows a letter sent last Friday by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (as the rotating President of the EU Council). The letter called for enhanced coordination on border surveillance and common rules for managing arrivals from affected regions. According to CNA reports, Antonio Costahas already confirmed that the issue will be included on the agenda of the European Council summit on June 18-19.
The Ebola outbreak affects the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, with the Italian Prime Minister raising the discussion on border management.