Von der Leyen: Europe facing very difficult times due to coronavirus

BRUSSELS, Jan 15 (KUNA) -- The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen Friday said that Europe is going through very difficult times due to the coronavirus.
"In many (EU) Member States, we know that the situation is very serious what the COVID-19 pandemic is concerned. Following the holiday break, we see that cases are spiking. And we see that new variants of the virus have been found in several dozen countries," she told a press conference in Lisbon, Portugal, this afternoon.
She said that "the new variants we discovered recently are concerning as they increase the speed of the spread of the virus." "Vaccination is the light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic, at this difficult situation," said von der Leyen who together with some EU Commissioners visited Lisbon for the launch of the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union.
Portugal took over the six-month rotating EU Presidency from Germany on 1 January.
On his part, Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, told the joint press conference that they have invited EU Heads of State or Government, EU institutions, social partners and other key stakeholders to a Social Summit in Porto on 7 May.
"We need a common commitment to make the European Pillar of Social Rights a reality and that is why we intend to gather EU leaders, institutions, social partners and civil society at the Porto Social Summit. The social dimension of the EU is absolutely key to ensure that the double transition our societies need is fair and inclusive, leaving no one behind," he said. (end) nk.ibi