Displaying items by tag: Europe

Saaremaa island, off the coast of Estonia, has been labelled by locals as ‘corona island’ after becoming a hotspot for the virus and being placed into strict quarantine. The first Covid-19 cases on Saaremaa began in March, after a sports event was held there with a team from Italy. Now health officials estimate that half of the island's population have contracted the virus. An overcrowded refugee camp on Chios had reports of an Iraqi asylum seeker dying after being cleared of having coronavirus. This caused riots and widespread damage by fire, leaving hundreds of people homeless. Many still believe she died of Covid-19. Sicily’s health services are stretched because of coronavirus, and 156 migrants on a German rescue ship were refused entry to its western coast. They had to be transferred to another vessel and quarantined.

EU leaders met electronically on 23 April to begin tentatively to unlock the nations’ businesses as the immediate health crisis eases. Restarting Europe’s economy has led to divisive debates over grants: ultimately, how should the wealthier north help out the harder-hit south? The argument over solidarity has become a bitter one, with some favouring ‘coronabonds’ or ‘Eurobonds’ and others preferring grants or a 1.5 trillion recovery fund. Let us pray that all decisions made will successfully help those most in need. May the next steps include a huge increase in the EU budget, so that every member state overcomes the crisis together, leaving no nation behind carrying heavy unmanageable debts. Observers note that EU institutions have struggled to get leaders to put aside their national interests.

The Eurozone is in a deep recession. Unemployment figures are spiking to unprecedented highs and debt levels are soaring. It is an economic crisis on a scale not seen since the Second World War, or the Great Depression. Onlookers have watched individual countries retreat into national self-righteousness and mutual finger-pointing in a very un-united attitude that threatens the survival of the EU and will not solve anything. Then, finally, after weeks of wrangling, EU finance ministers managed to reach a deal - to the relief of most. Let us pray that the €500 billion package to help countries hardest hit by the pandemic will succeed in implementing an economic plan. See also

Wildfires are just over a mile from the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant and a disposal site for radioactive waste. Over 300 firefighters are working to contain the blaze. A toxic cloud rises within sight of the carcass of Chernobyl’s Unit 4 nuclear reactor, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history. Greenpeace said that the fires were larger than Ukraine’s official estimates and could pose a health risk, saying, ‘A fire approaching a nuclear or hazardous radiation facility is always a risk’. Flames could reach abandoned vehicles at the former plant, causing mighty explosions and spreading toxic fumes and unleashing radiation into the ground near the reactors. The fumes could sweep across vast swathes of Poland, Belarus, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova. All are vulnerable: see

The EU wants to be climate-neutral by 2050. That means a restructuring of energy supply, industry, traffic and agriculture. Global warming will result in rising sea levels, with flooding of cities such as London, Rotterdam, and the North Sea coast of Germany, and increases of extreme weather conditions. The C-virus has caused almost everything to stop, which has helped the decrease of CO2. May we learn things from this 'quiet season' which are helpful for the future when life returns to normal. France advocates further use of nuclear energy with new reactors. They now have a better carbon footprint than Germany. Pray for the nations to understand the controversial paths to sustainable development. Pray for Christians and churches to set an example in business and lifestyle that creates CO2 reduction. Pray for governments, commerce and industry to make milestone decisions that halt global warming.

April 7th was World Health Day was on 7 April. The theme for 2020 wasis to support nurses and midwives. Also this week the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU will secure over €15 billion to help fight coronavirus. ‘It is in our interest to ensure that the fight is successful worldwide,’ von der Leyen tweeted. ‘By standing united and working together, we can defeat this virus.’ With most of the European Union under lockdown and death tolls climbing in Italy, Spain, France and the UK, Europe has become the main focus epicentre of the global outbreak. 

Lockdown is the only solution to ending the pandemic, and Italy’s government has extended it beyond 3 April with no new deadline. In the south, hunger and hardship threaten to be even bigger problems than the virus, with regions beginning to feel the weight of the economic blow. Many residents are beginning to run out of food and money. An estimated 3.3 million Italians - one-third of whom are located in the south - work off-the-books for cash, making them unsure of when their next pay cheque will come. This concern has caused some southern Italians to plot raids against grocery stores, and authorities are worried the situation could become violent. Pray for the poorest southern regions - Sicily, Campania, Calabria, and Puglia - to know peace not violence as they begin to struggle for food and money. A private Facebook group, urging people to organise large raids on grocery stores and markets, is currently under investigation. One man addressing the government said, ‘You will regret this because we are going to have a revolution’. See

Suppliers say fresh fruit and vegetables in Europe could dwindle as the coronavirus pandemic hampers the global movement of produce and people across borders. Governments are looking at ways to ease shortages, including ‘green lanes’ to allow fresh produce to move across closed EU borders. A ‘shadow army’ of European harvesters could be recruited and travel rules for migrant workers loosened. Workers are being prevented from travelling between Europe and Africa due to grounding of flights. There is also a shortage of lorry drivers. Europe’s supermarkets rely on Kenya as their major supplier of green beans and peas, but the sector’s workers have been sent home on mandatory leave because orders cannot be shipped. Shipments from South Africa are also becoming tougher, with the country beginning a 21-day lockdown. These challenges are beginning to affect the usual plentiful supplies. See also the UK article ‘Feed the nation’.

‘We grieve for those who have lost their lives or loved ones. We grieve about the physical, emotional, and financial repercussions of this pandemic. We are grateful for those working tirelessly to care for the sick, curb the spread, and create a cure and vaccine. But most importantly, we stop to remember these Biblical truths about COVID-19: God reigns OVER it. If the wind and sea obey Him, so does this virus (Matthew 8:27). He is IN THE MIDST of it. He’s our ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). He wants to do something THROUGH it. He has good purposes in ALL things (Romans 8:28). He can bring eternal hope OUT OF it. Millions are being forced to face their mortality. It is urgent that each one of them hears and knows the Hope of the Gospel. So let us lift our eyes from the headlines and fix them on Jesus, and pray - because no quarantine will ever stop its power and reach.’

The European Union is showing major evidence of stress thanks to the pandemic. Every member state considers its own national interests over those of the rest of the EU. Economist Branko Milanovic called the crisis ‘a huge test of European solidarity’, as countries close borders and hoard medical equipment. When Italy requested help from other member states to fight the coronavirus not one responded, but China did. Germany and France were condemned for blocking the export of vital medical supplies, calling into question the bloc's solidarity in times of crisis. Pray for humility and compassion to replace nationalist dialogue, and for members to return to the founding principle of unity.