In an opinion piece for Politico, the Italian representative to the EU has called for help, asking for medical equipment to be redistributed to those regions most in need. Maurizio Massari said his country had acted "swiftly, boldly and with full transparency." He asked for the European Union Mechanism of Civil Protection to be activated to ensure the supply of medical protective equipment. Other EU countries have yet to respond to the call, but EU chief Ursula von der Leyen took to Twitter to convey solidarity, saying "we're all Italians."