Three summits in the span of only one and a half months, the schedule of the EU is filled at the moment: ambitious climate goals, the handling of the pandemic, as well as international relations are to be discussed in Brussels.
On Monday evening, 27 state leaders met to talk about and focus on foreign affairs, including the relationship with Great Britain and the recent tumult in the Middle East. Centre of the attention was however the recent incident in Belarus, during which the local government forced a passenger plane destined for Vilnus to land in Minsk for the sole purpose of arresting journalist Roman Protasevich.
PM Bettel condemned this move: "We are currently discussing further sanctions against Belarus, but at some point, we will reach our limitations. What happened is unacceptable. Hijacking a plane is frankly insane if I may say so, and we cannot stand by and watch while it happens. I hope that the 27 of us will find a consensus on how to proceed. If we don't manage to take a stand on this issue, then we really are just a bunch of amateurs."
Another important issue was of course the Covid-19 pandemic. Last Thursday, representatives agreed to proceed with the introduction of the European Covid Certificate, which is to become more concrete by the beginning of July. The passport will document if a person is vaccinated, tested, or recovered. PM Bettel commented: "Our situation is a bit different due to the number of cross-border workers. I am in fact meeting with French authorities in the coming days to discuss if we cannot move ahead a bit quicker."
The DP politician hopes to have a smartphone app ready by mid June, which will work with QR codes. First on a national level, then hopefully internationally: "Tested, vaccinated, or recovered will be important statuses in the foreseeable future, and it is crucial that as many people as possible get their liberties back."
