21
May
2026
Watch
The Union’s preparedness for and response to health emergencies: the case of the MV Hondius and the hantavirus warning (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, I am glad to have you here today. I want my first words to be to express my heartfelt condolences for the deaths of the three people who lost their lives on the MV Hondius vessel and to wish the speedy recovery of all those in hospitals fighting this virus. As you said, the alert for the hantavirus outbreak in MV Hondius, where passengers from 23 countries – nine of them European – were travelling, was sent to the European Union’s Early Warning and Response System. We must remember, because Sanchez was not sent. The Health Security Committee of the European Union coordinated national and international authorities; Sanchez didn't. It was the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) that sent a rapid management report on this passage; Sanchez didn't. The operational response to the vessel was provided by ECDC; Sanchez didn't. And it was the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, with the Commission, as the Commissioner very well explained, that co-financed and assisted Spain and the other European countries involved in the coordinated action of that passage - France, the Netherlands, Greece and Ireland; Sanchez didn't. The world is facing serious threats to global health and the spread of infectious diseases, and evidence of European responsiveness has been put on the table, but also President Sanchez's ability to leverage any event to plug its infectious corrupt ramifications.