Why the EU's Ebola response doesn't add up

At the Oct. 20 European Union foreign ministers’ meeting and the Oct. 23 EU summit in Brussels, the topic of a more comprehensive European response to the Ebola crisis was high on the agenda after a Spanish nurse treating two infected missionaries became the first person to contract the virus on European soil.

Beyond that, Europe’s own image of a generous and effective international humanitarian actor had been set back after U.S. President Barack Obama announced he would send more than 3,000 troops to West Africa to build field hospitals and deploy some 70 health officials on a rotation basis from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Europe’s own image was further challenged with news from Cuba, which dispatched a brigade of 165 health workers and equipment to Sierra Leone at a time when Europe was still discussing ways to act more effectively on the ground.

This image could suggest Europe had done little to combat the epidemic since Médecins Sans Frontières issued warnings in March, the World Health Organization declared on Aug. 8 the outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern,” and a Sept. 18 U.N. Security Council resolution called the epidemic a threat to international peace and security. In March, the European Commission stepped up its financial aid to the affected countries allocating 18 million euros ($23 million) to address the most urgent humanitarian needs, in addition to the already committed 180 million euros in humanitarian and development aid to the affected countries.