On 9 March 2020, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that ‘now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real’.

In spite of the WHO’s repeated calls for continued data sharing in order to deal with the COVID-19 threat, China has not provided data on coronavirus infections among healthcare workers.

In the meantime, AI models have been successfully created which can use worldwide data to calculate the properties of the virus in the race to develop a cure.

In light of the above:

1. What discussions is the EU having with Member States and third countries, such as China, about excessive data security regulations, which have undermined the delivery of crucial information to health experts?

2. How is the EU planning to use its own AI capabilities, such as AI-based detection systems, to find solutions to resolve the COVID-19 outbreak or prevent future epidemics?

3. How is the EU tackling false information and disinformation about COVID-19, which only feed into the worldwide panic?

See the question here

Answer given by Mr Breton on behalf of the European Commission here