European Union

Thursday, 10 March

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Written by Marcin Cesluk-Grajewski and Nicola Censini.

On Tuesday 22 February 2022, the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) organised a conference on ‘Wellbeing and Covid‑19: Life in the pandemic’.

The event, moderated by Jutta Schulze‑Hollmén, Director of Human Resources at EPRS, followed the publication of an OECD report analysing the immediate implications of the pandemic for people’s lives and livelihoods in the industrialised world. Michal Šimečka (Renew, Slovakia), Vice-President of the European Parliament opened the conference and set the scene, recalling the severe economic and social toll Covid‑19 has inflicted. During his speech, he said that ”while a useful concept, GDP does not provide a sufficiently detailed picture of the living conditions that ordinary people experience”. It is necessary, instead, ”to dwell more on the human dimension of the disease”, notably issues such as work-life balance, health, family life, education and safety, as well as a rapidly growing number of cases of depression and the feeling of social exclusion.

In her presentation, Carrie Exton, OECD Senior Expert on Well-Being Data Insights and Policy Practice, accurately highlighted some significant social and economic inequalities that emerged during the pandemic and how these are shaping and orienting people’s daily lives. At European level, the overall picture is not so optimistic. In addition to providing interesting data on jobs, health, work-life balance, safety and more, she said people suffered from increased levels of fear, worry and depression. Such feelings are a direct result of health-related anxieties, such as the possibility of being hospitalised or dying, worries about the financial situation, the complications arising from domestic family arrangements during times of lockdown and restrictions on activities and social connectedness. While negative mental health consequences affect all ages, young people in particular have been found to be at high risk of developing poor mental health. Specific groups have been particularly hard hit, including health and care workers, people with pre-existing mental health problems, and women.

During her presentation, Carrie Exton also examined the role that wellbeing evidence can play in supporting governments” pandemic recovery efforts and in redesigning policy content from a more multidimensional perspective. Proper work-life balance, culture and civil engagement are indeed important for life satisfaction. It is therefore important that institutions start to deal with these problems as soon as possible. If mental and physical wellbeing is not addressed, there might also be both mid- and long-term consequences for our societies. That is’ why it is important to actively involve citizens and stimulate the debate on what policies and tools are needed to achieve these goals.

The conference then continued with an open discussion, with the participation of Céline Nieuwenhuys, who advises the Belgian government as Secretary General of the Federation of Social Services for Brussels and Wallonia, and Miquel Oliu Barton, Visiting Fellow at the Bruegel think tank and Adviser to the French and Spanish governments.

Céline Nieuwenhuys pointed out that crises such as pandemics often lead to divisions in a society, and governments should therefore act to bridge them, notably by taking care of the most vulnerable people’. In particular, she appealed to institutions and companies to remain open to citizens, with an individual welcome at a front desk, where time is taken to solve individual problems. In her opinion, the backlash against vaccinations might have resulted in many people losing trust in governments, or even democracy in general. She also said teleworking from home was welcomed by many, but was hated by a significant part of society, for example, single mothers who had to work while also caring for their children who had to stay at home, or those with cramped spaces. She added that tele-education was not a good solution for students.

Miquel Oliu Barton, noted that ‘the right policies should seek to overcome dichotomies such lockdowns and the erosion of trust in the government and science’. While presenting his research on Covid‑19 certificates, he pointed out that governments did not greatly improve security, but they did a lot to incentivise people to get vaccinated. The vaccination uptake grew massively since the adoption of this too. Anti-Covid policies should have been better coordinated among EU Member States, he said. The coordination worked in the economic response to the pandemic, but not in health and mobility’.

In conclusion, Petra Claes, Head of Medical Preparedness and Crisis Management at the European Parliament, described how the pandemic affected the Parliament and the concrete measures taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus in recent months.

To watch this event online, please click here.

You can find the next coming EPRS online events here.

Russia has moved to throttle independent media after its invasion of Ukraine, allowing state television to dominate the airwaves with broadcasting that relentlessly promotes Russian successes and carefully toes the Kremlin line.

The United States on Wednesday (9 March) denied renewed Russian accusations that Washington was operating biowarfare labs in Ukraine, calling the claims "laughable" and suggesting Moscow may be laying the groundwork to use a chemical or biological weapon.

European Union leaders will tackle ways to wean themselves off Russian fossil fuels on Thursday (10 March) and debate how quickly to ditch their key supplier, with countries split over whether to sanction oil and gas imports as Moscow wages war in Ukraine.

US Vice President Kamala Harris will meet Polish leaders in Warsaw on Thursday (10 March) amid disagreements with the eastern European country over how to arm Ukraine with warplanes to fight Russia's invasion.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Romanians queuing up at petrol stations, Russia sanctions possibly leading to a huge recession in Germany, and so much more.

With the German economy heavily dependent on Russian energy exports – especially gas, German businesses worry that Europe’s biggest economy could face a major recession. This comes as EU leaders on Thursday will discuss possible additional sanctions against Russia, with...

Foreign ministers from Russia and Ukraine will meet in Turkey on Thursday in the first high-level talks between the two countries since Moscow invaded its neighbour, with Ankara hoping they could mark a turning point in the raging conflict.

The Ukrainian military forces are efficient on the ground and in the sky, but they need resources, foremost military resources to protect civilians from shelling, writes Olga Lymar.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 9 March shared video footage showing massive destruction at the recently refurbished maternity hospital in the southern port city of Mariupol. According to Roman Rukomeda, the victims are numerous.

Since its adoption in 2013, the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) has proven to be a pillar of the European single market. By establishing uniform rules for the CE marking of construction products and materials, industry professionals, public authorities, and consumers alike can now easily compare the performance of different products.

As war rages in Ukraine and thousands of refugees flee across the border, Poland, one of the EU and NATO's easternmost members, has stepped up to help its neighbours in a massive show of solidarity.

As EU leaders meet in Versaille, energy is set to be a key topic. But leaders must ensure that the decisions they make to break away from Russian energy push the EU in the direction of sustainability, argue European sustainability think tanks.

During February, inflation in Albania reached a record rate of 3.9% while the cost of basic food items increased by almost 7%, that are set to be further exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The rate of inflation was at its highest...

Ukraine said on Wednesday (9 March) there was a danger of a radiation leak at the Chernobyl nuclear power station after electricity was cut off to the plant, but the UN nuclear watchdog saw "no critical impact on security".

The EU’s Clean Hydrogen Partnership, a public-private undertaking, has launched its first call for proposals on 41 research topics related to hydrogen. Much of the funding will go towards hydrogen production and storage.

Even though the Russian invasion into Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions by the West are hurting EU companies, the president of the European SME association SMEUnited Petri Salminen told EURACTIV that companies were supportive of the EU’s sanctions against Russia.

Addressing the 22nd anniversary of the proclamation of the Brčko District of BiH, Ambassador Johann Sattler touched upon the Russian invasion of Ukraine, after which Russian Ambassador Igor Kalabukhov demonstratively stood up and left the ceremony. Sattler said Putin’s attack...

The upcoming visit to Belgrade by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock sends the right signal, the Bundestag’s rapporteur for the Western Balkans Adis Ahmetovicthat said, adding that stability and European perspective are of utmost importance for the Western Balkans right...