URSULA VON DER LEYEN

In Greece, many households and businesses that in previous years relied on heating fuel later opted for natural gas because it was cheaper.

If the EU is mulling the issuance of a joint bond to finance energy and defence expenditures, the Union will have acted more swiftly than ever.

Preparations for mass vaccinations comes as the identification of a highly infectious new strain of the coronavirus in Britain caused chaos across the region, with countries shutting off travel ties with the UK and disrupting trade ahead of Christmas.

The images that followed the destruction of the Moria camp with homeless migrants finding refuge even in cemeteries bred a climate of guilt in Brussels

On the refugee-migration issue and the situation in Moria European Commission President declared that the Dublin Regulation concerning migration must be replaced

'The enemy is the virus and now we have to do our utmost to protect our people and to protect our economies,' said Ursula von der Leyen.

'Indeed, these are extraordinary circumstances. And we have just been to the border area and have seen how tense and how difficult the situation is. The Greek authorities are facing a very difficult task in containing the situation.,' said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.