The medical staff wearing protective equipment stood silently in two rows, turning their backs as Sophie Wilmes arrived in a car.

In many European countries, the suspension of previously guaranteed personal freedoms, including the right to gather and circulate freely, have raised fears that temporary policies might be extended to last beyond exceptional lockdowns.

Farmers protesting on the streets of Brussels last week couldn’t agree on the share-out of Common Agricultural Policy funds, not to mind leaders inside the European Council trying to agree on the EU’s seven-year budget of over €1,000bn.