Within the EU the new Omicron variant is causing an explosive new wave of infections, resulting in more restrictive measures being taken by many countries. This new wave is not so far evident in Eastern Europe, but the worry is surely that it may be only a matter of a few weeks before the same pattern emerges, possibly even more virulently given the lower rates of vaccination so far.
Thus, on January 26, within the framework of the “3 DCFTAs” Project, CEPS in cooperation with the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum is organising an online COVID-19 Eastern Europe webinar: “Urgent message from West to East Europe: be prepared for an Omicron tsunami”.
The webinar will debate the current epidemiological developments, adequacy of vaccine supplies for the region, and restrictive measures introduced by the governments. It will also explore the economic impact of the pandemic and progress towards recovery, as well as its impact on political regimes in the region. The event will be open to audience participation in the Q&A session.
Speakers:
- Martin Mühleck, Teamleader, DG NEAR Covid-19 Response Project Team, European Commission
- Richard Youngs, Carnegie Europe, Brussels
- Elene Panchulidze, Georgian Institute of Politics, Tbilisi
- Veronika Movchan, Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, Kyiv
- Denis Cenusa, Expert-Grup, Chisinau
- Tamara Kovziridze, Reformatics, Tbilisi
- Benyamin Poghosyan, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies
- Shahla Ismayil, Women Association for Rational Development, Baku, Steering Committee EaP CSF
- Andrei Yahorau, Centre for European Transformation, Minsk, EaP CSF
- Andrey Makarychev, University of Tartu
Moderator:
- Michael Emerson, Associate Senior Research Fellow, CEPS
