EMEA launched a regional policy research initiative on COVID-19 on 18 March 2020. EMEA and EMNES experts and researchers collaborated to collectively identify and assess policy measures taken by their respective governments, with a special focus on the socio-economic challenges linked to the pandemic. The main objective of this initiative is to facilitate the shaping of future policy actions towards enhancing our socio-economic resilience in Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa. Under this research initiative, an EMEA Study was published on 22 April and an EMEA Monitor was launched at the beginning of May to track the policy performance of countries in the three regions.
The purpose of the webinar was to present the main results of the EMEA policy monitor and to discuss the latest policy developments taken by the countries in Europe, Mediterranean and Africa towards a sustainable recovery path.
The COVID-19 global pandemic has shown the world that no governments from either developed or developing nations were ready to prevent or to manage such an abrupt external shock. The uncertainty surrounding the virus and its suppression, the undefined timeframe potentially needed (12-18 months) to deliver effective treatments and vaccines and the consequences of extending periods of lockdown and confinement, the absence of a clear strategy on the return to “normality” post-lockdown without risking entering another infectious wave, together with the global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, have put undue pressure on economies and financial markets world-wide. Strict containment, lockdown and mobility restriction measures seem to be effective when it comes to saving lives, but at a high financial and economic cost. This webinar, motivated by the recently published study on “COVID-19 in the Mediterranean and Africa: Diagnosis, Policy Responses, Preliminary Assessment and Way forward”, will discuss the effectiveness and socio-economic impact of policy measures taken in the Euro-Mediterranean and Africa, with a view to further advancing the policy response assessment at three levels:
- Preparedness and effectiveness of healthcare systems;
- Completeness and timeliness of COVID-19 containment policies; and
- Comprehensiveness (and solidarity) of socio-economic mitigation policies.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the energy and financial markets worldwide and the world economy overall, as a result of a dramatic demand and supply shock. No country was immune. The panel discussed the state of play of energy markets amidst the demand and supply shock resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the macro economic impacts on the MENA region and the path towards sustainable energy developments to meet Paris targets.