EU summit postponed as Charles Michel's "close contact" tested positive
The protocols of the coronavirus have reached our lives at all levels. European Council President Charles Michel has decided to postpone the extraordinary EU leaders' summit after a person he was in contact with tested positive for COVID-19.
It seems that a security guard with whom he was in close contact has tested positive, according to European Council spokespersons on Twitter. The summit was scheduled to take place on September 24 and 25, and will finally be held on October 1 and 2.
Despite having tested negative in a screening test, the President of the Council has forced himself to self-quarantine following the new pandemic protocol. “Respecting Belgian rules he has gone into quarantine as of today”, the spokesman said yesterday on social networks.
Public and political figures are regularly tested to avoid such a situation. But it is inevitable that, from time to time, contacts between people and the comings and goings of meetings, trips and hotels, lead to a lack of control that puts the health of European politicians at risk.
The EU summit had been convened as a matter of urgency, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the UN General Assembly, to address a number of extraordinary issues on the table.
From internal issues such as the implementation of the post-Coronavirus Recovery Plan, the debate on the single market with the hard Brexit coming out of the gate, industrial policy, the digital transformation, the debate on sanctions against Belarus and the tensions with Turkey over its prospecting activities in the Mediterranean. There are even external issues such as the peace talks in Libya, relations with China and the common policy that will be implemented in view of the sanctions against Iran being applied by the United States.
The postponement of the extraordinary meeting of the European Council will, in turn, make it necessary to postpone the Spanish-Portuguese summit scheduled for October 2, according to official sources of the Portuguese government.
As the heads of government and state of the European Union are due to attend the extraordinary summit in Brussels on October 1 and 2, António Costa, the Portuguese prime minister, and Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish president, could not take part in the Iberian summit that was to be held in Guarda (Portugal).
The meeting will therefore have to be postponed, although no alternative date has been announced for the time being. Portugal and Spain are planning to hold the 31st Spanish-Portuguese summit, already re-scheduled due to the progress of the COVID-19.
The main theme of the bilateral meeting will be the creation of a common strategy for the development of cross-border regions, as Costa explained in July, when he received Sánchez in Lisbon.
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, travelled to Brussels where he maintained his planned European agenda with some bilateral contacts, despite the suspension of the Extraordinary European Council.
This morning he met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and subsequently with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell. In the afternoon he will meet with the Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni, and then with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The coronavirus does not give a break to any country, outbreaks come around the corner and politicians cannot stop the agenda. The suspension of the extraordinary summit was not a reason to cancel the trip to Brussels and the president of the government will take the opportunity to make contact with other important personalities.
Spain has until October 15 to present the national proposals to apply for the European Recovery Fund. Depending on whether they are accepted or not, the plan will be launched on April 30, 2021. This plan is focused on helping Member States to recover from the crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic and to relaunch the economy and support private investment.