The 19th ESS Council meeting was held on 3 June via video conference due to the Coronavirus pandemic, gathering some 37 participants representing the member states and ESS.
During the meeting, the In-Kind deliveries from partners in the member states were discussed, as work at ESS In-Kind partners across Europe has been disrupted during the pandemic; partly due to national lock-downs and supply chain interruptions, and partly, to the reduced possibilities for expert teams from the In-Kind partners to travel to Lund for on-site installation work.
Currently, the ESS In-Kind partners are starting to resume activities and the impact on ESS is under assessment. All the 13 ESS member states and all In-Kind partners are fully dedicated to reducing the impacts to a minimum.
While the In-Kind deliveries to ESS have been challenged, the civil construction progress well, and the project, overall, is now 69% complete. This progress has been achieved with the health and safety of the workforce as the main priority, and preventive measures have been taken throughout the duration of the pandemic – all non-critical visits to ESS have been suspended until further notice; to reduce staff density in the offices, all colleagues work remotely, if possible; only those whose tasks requiring physical presence, such as installation, work from the offices; areas in the offices in Lund have been physically separated, and increased hygiene routines have been introduced. All these measures were implemented in order to maintain a safe work environment.
In conclusion, the Council expressed their strong appreciation for ESS and In-Kind staff and management during this challenging time, and formally approved the ESS 2019 Activity Report.