We stand together — United in distance

Originally I had planned to use my April column to announce a number of events in the Philippines to celebrate our annual ‘Europe Day’ in May. But unfortunately COVID-19 has made us to postpone them.

Last month I thanked the government for its help in the repatriation of many stranded tourists. While bringing the remaining tourists back home continues to be important, the EU over the last weeks has worked hard to respond to the consequences of COVID-19.

Solidarity should not be an empty word. When the first reports on infections in Wuhan reached us, the EU provided China with 56 tons of personal protective equipment. By now, COVID-19 has spread from China to all parts of the world. All countries are confronted with the same challenges: to protect people’s lives, to “flatten the curve” as we say these days, without undermining the economic and social foundations of our societies. 

Also Europe has been badly hit by the virus. But — borrowing a phrase by Mark Twain — reports of our death are greatly exaggerated. On the contrary: While we certainly had to work on the support for some particularly hard-affected EU Member States, we have not forgotten that the pandemic requires a global approach. As Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security, put it: “The EU, together with its 27 Member States, is a forceful defender of a coordinated multilateral response.”

So after some internal squabbling (hey, what else would you expect from a club of 27 lively democracies ?) we are now standing tall together and have prepared — combining resources from the EU, Member States and financial institutions — a powerful global response package worth €20 billion (P1.1 trillion) which does not have to be shy to be compared with what others are doing.

Like the Philippines, we continue to support at this critical juncture the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) to whom much of our funding is going. The WHO provides assistance to all countries especially to the most vulnerable ones.  We have contributed with €114 million (P6.4 billion) worth of support, of which the Philippines will certainly benefit from.

We have also redirected some €500,000 (P28 million) from existing EU humanitarian aid projects to COVID-19 response in the Philippines to quickly mobilize distribution of masks, hygiene kits, temporary washing facilities, food and cash to the most vulnerable population.

In addition, the EU is also ready to reorient around €15 million (P843 million) of already planned assistance to COVID-19 response actions in the Philippines. In consultation with the government, these funds could be used to address the health and socio-economic needs. Our support to the health sector in the Philippines is not new. From 2009 to 2019 the EU has contributed €73 million (P4.1 billion) funding to the health sector in the country. 

The EU and its Member States are the biggest donor of development assistance worldwide. We usually operate by providing money and working with governments and multilateral institutions, such as the WHO, rather than delivering ourselves personnel protective equipment or so. Frankly speaking, I sometimes regret that our modus operandi takes away some visibility of our action. But we as a donor have learned from experience that better impact is achieved if we let our project partners decide at the local level what is most necessary to be bought with that money. And, yes, all the funding we provide is grants, not loans.

I was heartened to see that last week also ASEAN — our regional sister organisation — with the support of the Philippines stressed the need for cooperation of the international community and, like the EU, created a COVID-19 response fund. ASEAN also committed to keeping ASEAN’s markets open for trade and investment. This is important because — despite all the assistance packages — what will really help all of us to overcome the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic is if our economies will do better again and trade will flourish free and unimpaired.

Physical, not social distancing still will matter for a while. But as the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen nowadays says: “Stay safe, stay strong and stay in touch.”

(Thomas Wiersing is Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the EU Delegation to the Philippines)