Progress: Procedure completed
Legal Basis:
RoP 132-p2Subjects
Events
The European Parliament adopted by 616 votes to 29, with 45 abstentions, a resolution on the accessibility and affordability of COVID testing.
The text adopted in plenary was tabled by the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA, ECR, The Left groups.
The resolution highlighted that effective testing is considered as a decisive tool to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern, detect infections and limit isolation and quarantine measures, and will continue to play a key role in facilitating the free movement of people and to ensure cross-border transport and cross-border provision of services during the pandemic.
The accessibility and affordability of these tests differs greatly between the Member States, especially when it comes to the availability of free tests for the frontline workforce, including workers in the health sector, schools, universities and childcare facilities.
All Member States provide COVID-19 vaccines to their citizens and residents free of charge, but only some Member States provide free testing. Citizens and residents of the other Member States often have to pay high prices for COVID-19 tests, making this option unattainable for some and carrying the risk of creating discrimination based on socio-economic status.
To avoid inequality and discrimination between vaccinated and unvaccinated EU citizens and residents, both testing and vaccination should be free of charge according to Parliament.
At EU level, the Commission has proposed a framework for the issuance, verification and acceptance of an interoperable vaccination, testing and recovery certificate to facilitate free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic called the EU COVID-19 certificate. This certificate would facilitate the free movement of EU citizens and residents.
Parliament called on the Member States to:
- ensure universal, accessible, timely and free-of-charge testing in order to guarantee the right to free movement within the EU without discrimination on grounds of economic or financial means in the context of the EU COVID-19 certificate;
- ensure free testing, in particular for the frontline workforce, including health workers and their patients, and for schools, universities and childcare facilities;
- make it possible for health professionals and trained operators to collect testing data and report it to the relevant authorities;
- increase testing capacities across the EU, both for nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) and rapid antigen tests, especially in main transportation hubs and tourist destinations, including in remote and island regions and border regions by using mobile testing units and sharing laboratory facilities.
The Commission and Member States are called on to:
- ensure sufficient funding and to further their efforts under the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) incubator to develop innovative non-invasive testing for children and vulnerable groups, including for variants.
- jointly procure diagnostic test kits and sign joint contracts with medical analysis laboratory service providers to scale up COVID-19 testing capacity at EU level.
Parliament called on the Commission to:
- mobilise its resources to facilitate a financially just and anti-discriminatory implementation of the interoperable EU COVID-19 certificate;
- support the Member States by activating the Emergency Support Instrument to cover the costs of COVID-19 testing, requesting voluntary contributions from Member States, securing additional financing for advance purchase agreements and ensuring vaccines are provided for free;
- include clear information on COVID-19 testing availability and facilities in all Member States on the Re-open EU website and rapidly deploy an app helping users to find the location of their nearest COVID-19 testing facility;
- make such information easily accessible via an application programming interface, so that travel operators can easily share this information with their clients.
Documents
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2021)537
- Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament: T9-0162/2021
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Motion for a resolution: B9-0233/2021
- Motion for a resolution: B9-0234/2021
- Motion for a resolution: B9-0233/2021
- Motion for a resolution: B9-0234/2021
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2021)537
Activities
- Cristian-Silviu BUŞOI
Plenary Speeches (1)Institutional Motions (1)
- Jytte GUTELAND
Plenary Speeches (1)Institutional Motions (1)
- Sophia IN 'T VELD
Plenary Speeches (1)Institutional Motions (1)
- María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS
Plenary Speeches (1)Institutional Motions (1)
- Frédérique RIES
Plenary Speeches (1)Institutional Motions (1)
- Michal ŠIMEČKA
Plenary Speeches (1)Institutional Motions (1)
- Annalisa TARDINO
Plenary Speeches (1)Institutional Motions (1)
- Dragoş TUDORACHE
Plenary Speeches (1)Institutional Motions (1)
- Jean-Lin LACAPELLE
Plenary Speeches (1)Institutional Motions (1)
- Antonio TAJANI
- Andrus ANSIP
- Simona BONAFÈ
- Dita CHARANZOVÁ
- Lefteris CHRISTOFOROU
- Cornelia ERNST
- Laura FERRARA
- Sylvie GUILLAUME
- Balázs HIDVÉGHI
- Esther DE LANGE
- Ulrike MÜLLER
Institutional Motions (1)
- Caroline NAGTEGAAL
- Piernicola PEDICINI
- Paulo RANGEL
- Michèle RIVASI
- Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ
- Nils TORVALDS
Institutional Motions (1)
- Tom VANDENKENDELAERE
- Josianne CUTAJAR
- Robert HAJŠEL
- Traian BĂSESCU
- José Ramón BAUZÁ DÍAZ
- Gunnar BECK
- Nicolaus FEST
- Claudia GAMON
Institutional Motions (1)
- Beata KEMPA
- Mislav KOLAKUŠIĆ
- Anne-Sophie PELLETIER
- Isabel SANTOS
- Ramona STRUGARIU
Institutional Motions (1)
- Carmen AVRAM
- Simona BALDASSARRE
- Nathalie COLIN-OESTERLÉ
- Anna Júlia DONÁTH
- Petros KOKKALIS
- Sylvia LIMMER
- Karen MELCHIOR
Institutional Motions (1)
- Silvia MODIG
- Sara CERDAS
- Vlad-Marius BOTOŞ
- Stefania ZAMBELLI
- Milan BRGLEZ
- Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR
Institutional Motions (1)
- Petar VITANOV
- Pernille WEISS
- Rob ROOKEN
- Alin MITUȚA
Votes
L’accessibilité et le caractère abordable des tests de dépistage de la COVID-19 - The accessibility and affordability of Covid-testing - Die Zugänglichkeit und Erschwinglichkeit von COVID-19-Tests - B9-0234/2021 /rev - § 1/1 #
PPE
S&D
Renew
Verts/ALE
ECR
ID
The Left
NIB9-0234/2021 /rev - § 1/2 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - Am 2 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - Am 3 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - § 6/1 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - § 6/2 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - § 6/3 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - Am 4 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - § 9/1 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - § 9/2 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - § 9/3 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - Considérant D #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - Am 1 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - Considérant V/1 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - Considérant V/2 #
B9-0234/2021 /rev - Considérant X #
L’accessibilité et le caractère abordable des tests de dépistage de la COVID-19 - The accessibility and affordability of Covid-testing - Die Zugänglichkeit und Erschwinglichkeit von COVID-19-Tests - B9-0234/2021 /rev - Proposition de résolution #
History
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