Several member states have urged the European Commission to launch a joint procurement of medical supplies, over fears that the outbreak of the coronavirus could hurt the production of pharmaceuticals in China - leading to possible knock-on medical shortages in the EU.
"We will remain vigilant and if the situation changes we will step up our work," the commissioner for health Stella Kyriakides told EU health ministers at an emergency meeting in Brussels on Thursday (13 February).
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Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.