Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken jointly with the EU to tackle COVID-19.

Infectious diseases such as COVID-19 do not respect borders and we are working closely with the European Union, European countries and global partners to tackle this global pandemic.

As the United Kingdom is no longer an EU Member State, we do not attend EU Health Ministers’ meetings. However, we are engaging constructively with the EU to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. The UK continues to attend EU Health Security Committee meetings related to COVID-19 and shares information through the EU’s Early Warning and Response System. The UK has also confirmed that it will participate in the EU’s latest Joint Procurement round relating to therapeutics and attends meetings of the Joint Procurement Steering Committee.

In addition, we have engaged bilaterally with the European Commission on our respective responses to COVID-19, including on the issue of personal protective equipment and procurement.

Our responses will continue to benefit from this international cooperation, and we are committed to continuing this as we move into future stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.