The Liberal fight against COVID-19
These are our 16 points to create a new future for Europe that guarantees our safety, safeguards our liberties and freedoms, and offers opportunity and prosperity for our citizens.
Safeguarding public health
1. Halting the spread by tracking, testing and tracing
- More investment in testing tracking, and tracing & new technologies
- Secure interoperability of apps across the EU
- Track and Trace should be in line with fundamental freedoms and privacy
2. Joining forces to supply of medical emergency equipment
- Strengthening of the rescEU mechanism
- Less dependency on other global players
- Support of local European businesses
3. Eliminating the virus: one coordinated EU vaccination programme
- EU vaccination programme to ensure easy, fair, and quick access for every European
- Harmonization of procedures and best practices sharing with the world
4. Incentivise and invest in medical research
- More cross-border and coordinated investment in public health research
- Creation of a European Health Research body (beyond the EU)
- Creation of a European Data Space for Health
5. Greater coordinating role for the European Union
- Empowerment of the European Commissioner for Crisis Management
- Creation of a European Health Response Mechanism in face of future crisis
- Creation of a European Security Council to coordinate crisis management and decision-making
- Strengthening of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and European Medicines Agency (EMA)
6. Reform of the WHO
- Strengthening and reform of the World Health Organisation
- Establishment of an independent and impartial inquiry on WHO’s COVID-19 handling
- Inclusion of Taiwan in the World Health Assembly (WHA) and as WHO observer
Restoring public trust
7. Regaining public trust in democratic decision-making
- Emergency measures: proportionate, limited in time and scope, and subject to regular scrutiny
- More transparency and evidence-based decision-making from governments
- A Europe-wide effort to tackle disinformation
8. Protecting democracy and the rule of law
- No to corona dictatorships
- Establishment of mechanisms to monitory democracy and fundamental rights
- Introduction of the principle of conditionality
9. Learning the lessons
- Conduction of national evaluations and queries to learn the lessons
- Strengthening of the Schengen Area to avoid closure of borders
- Freedom of movement for workers, patients, and health professionals
- Establishment of “Health Corridors” between neighbouring regions for provision of care
- Highlighting of acts of EU solidarity and better communicate them to the citizens
Protecting jobs, prosperity, and our common future
10. Reform and strengthening of World Trade Organisation
- Competition, fairness and free trade as a priority against nationalization and protectionism
- Strong reform of the World Trade Organisation
- EU recovery based on free trade and diversifying supply chains
11. Increase economic exchange by keeping borders open
- Closure of borders only as last resort – even during a pandemic
- Maintenance of freedom of movement across EU borders for all EU citizens
12. Champion of European leadership
- Advocacy of openness and free trade in the digital world to fight against protectionism and renationalization
13. Invest in infrastructure
- More expenditure in research and new technologies
- More investment in clean and renewable energies
- Improvement of interconnectivity and addressing of foreign security threats through a European 5G network
14. Invest in citizens and businesses
- Creation of a sustainable pension system for Europeans
- Reduction of bureaucracy and regulations, easier access to finance and simpler rules for SMEs
- A European initiative to provide social protection and social-labour rights for online platform workers
- Combination of teleworking and traditional work for a better work-life balance
15. Embrace the digital revolution
- More investment in digital infrastructure
- A reform of the e-commerce directive
- Harmonisation and stricter rules for online platforms that provide services to European consumers
- A new Digital Single Market strategy to improve the digital infrastructure
16. Invest in our common future
- Acknowledgement of the importance of the new MFF and New Generation Fund
- Debate on new cross-border financial support and new mechanism for EU investment
- Future investments based on environment protection, innovation, and digitalization
- Commitment of countries to energy reform and climate policies, health systems, labour markets, tax and legal systems, social protection, pension schemes, and reduction of bureaucracy and state intervention
Read our Lessons learned from COVID-19 resolution in full here.