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Politico (19 January 2021)

EU officials insisted Monday that a visit to Lisbon by a high-level Brussels delegation was “essential business,” even though the trip resulted in three European commissioners going into isolation because of coronavirus infection risks. 

Friday’s visit, led by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was intended to showcase the start of Portugal’s presidency of the Council of the EU. But with the country’s health system on the verge of collapse following a surge in COVID-19 infections, the trip has raised prickly questions about how the EU decides what official travel is “essential” enough to make an exception to national lockdown measures.

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