EU Outlines Roadmap For Return To Public Life With Concerts, Festivals Only In Final Stage

The European Commission has released a new set of guidelines detailing how member states should start to resume public life following widespread lockdowns, with large-scale events such as festivals and concerts at the end of the list.

The document, titled “A European roadmap to lifting coronavirus containment measures” calls on member states to follow three principles: any action should be based on science; action should be coordinated by member states; and member states should maintain respect, solidarity, and communication during the process.

The roadmap concedes that while there is no one-size-fits-all approach that will be suitable for all member states, it acknowledges that any actions need to be gradual and transition from national states of emergency to more targeted interventions in places where the virus still is prevalent in populations.

Phased Approach

The plan calls for public life to resume in phases, allowing authorities to adjust the resumption of business activity as needed so that the process can be conducted as safely as possible.

The initial phase calls for the re-opening of schools, and businesses, followed by retail commercial activities such as non-essential shops.

Stage three calls for the reopening of restaurants, cafes, pubs, shops, and sporting centers, with mass gatherings such as concerts and festivals occurring only in the final phase.

The EU Commission also announced its epidemiological criteria for the relaxation of lockdown measures, including:

Sufficient healthcare capacity to cope with new infections, as well as a sustained reduction and stabilization in the number of hospitalizations and/or new cases for a sustained period of time.

The establishment of monitoring capacity, including large-scale testing to enable health care officials to identify and isolate newly infected people before they can cause a wider outbreak.

“While confinement measures are gradually lifted, there is a need to strategically plan the recovery, revitalizing the economy and getting back on a path of sustainable growth. This includes enabling the twin transition towards a greener and digital society, and drawing all lessons from the current crisis for the EU’s preparedness and resilience.”

The European Commission also announced that they are working on a recovery plan, based on a revamped proposal for the next long-term EU budget, that is intended to help the region recover from the economic blow imposed by the virus.