Labour MEP Alfred Sant has asked the European Commission to present a medium-term synopsis of its activity on pandemic insurance and to ensure a proper democratic debate on the issue.

He also called on the Commission to keep the European Parliament informed of developments.

Sant said that the COVID-19 pandemic has left many companies in financial difficulty, especially small and medium enterprises, although government intervention has helped alleviate some of the impact. 

An inter-service working group on pandemic insurance has been created at the level of the European Commission to discuss support for commercial policyholders particularly small and medium-sized enterprises in the context of uninsured business interruption losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“However, there is still a way to go and a clear need to recover while embedding resilience in our economy. This will allow us to be better prepared for the next crisis”, Sant said. 

He noted that there is a shortage of financial protection for large systemic events and this pandemic is only one manifestation of the variety of system risks that could disrupt the European economy. 

Sant said that to bridge the gap in financial protection for large systemic risks, the EU could ensure the resilience of the single market by providing some form of guarantee aimed at mitigating the possible impacts of such risks.