Mar 17, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

The European Commission has presented emergency measures, to be approved by the Eurogroup and ECOFIN on 16 and 17 March, which will allocate economic resources in the fight against Covid-19 in order to guarantee the functioning of health systems and with the aim of supporting Member States so that they can support businesses and protect workers from unemployment and loss of income, which could have permanent effects.
ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini, in a letter dated 13 March, called on all European trade union leaders to put pressure on their governments to adopt without delay the emergency measures proposed by the European Commission. The ETUC Executive Committee, meeting in Brussels on 9 and 10 March, in a declaration on the epidemic, had already stressed the need to take appropriate measures to stop and contain the spread of the virus and to better manage the health, economic and employment effects of this unprecedented difficult situation.

As far as FERPA is concerned more directly, Covid-19, as you know, mainly infects the elderly and people with serious illnesses. In Italy, to date, the people most affected, both in terms of positivity and in terms of deaths, are those over 70 years of age, with a peak for octogenarians, who are affected by a certain pathology. It is therefore necessary to put pressure on the governments of our respective countries to ensure that elderly people, especially those with disabilities, those living in fragile conditions and those living alone, receive adequate health and social care, so that they no longer feel alone, discriminated against and abandoned, due to the restrictive measures on mobility and social relations decided by governments to prevent the spread of this contagious virus.

In Italy, the situation is dramatic and is facing drastic measures and a strong appeal to its citizens’ sense of responsibility. Unfortunately, the virus is also spreading to other European countries and I hope that we will be able to share experiences of what has already been done in other countries, medical and pharmacological experiences, diagnostic protocols for prevention, in order to avoid contagion from the outset and to save lives.

Dear colleagues from FERPA, your concerns are also mine, but I am convinced that together and with our determination, we will succeed in strengthening solidarity in Europe without raising borders, in order to overcome this terrible pandemic as soon as possible to defend the health of all European citizens and in particular the elderly, who are the most vulnerable.

My most fraternal greetings.

Agostino SICILIANO
General Secretary

March 17th, 2020