Josep Borrell encourages rethinking global governance to address the coronavirus

Josep Borrell, Vice-President of the European Commission and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, has encouraged a rethink of global governance to address the coronavirus. "Global institutions were not prepared for the pandemic," he said on Monday during a virtual session organised by New Economy Forum. Borrell also outlined the EU's plans to tackle COVID-19 and highlighted the role played by the supranational body. "Our actions may not have had as much impact as those of China or Russia, but we cannot be accused of doing nothing," he stressed.  

The former Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs has defended during his appearance that the State is called upon to assume a new role in tackling the coronavirus crisis. "What began as a health emergency has become an unprecedented social and economic debacle. Many Europeans are locked in their homes without being able to work and the consequences of the pandemic will be worse the longer this situation lasts," he explained.  

Despite this warning, Borrell has shown confidence in the strength of Europe's health systems to deal with the coronavirus. "In Europe we have 40 times more doctors per capita than in Africa. In addition, it is very difficult to confine the population there and water for hand washing is scarce. This pandemic will have very serious consequences for them," he said.  

The EU official stressed during his speech that the European Commission has done everything in its power to help in the coronavirus crisis. "The first thing we did was to suspend the stability and growth pact rules. All available resources have been redirected to address the fight against the coronavirus. We have relocated more than 30 billion euros and launched a programme of up to 100 billion euros to help countries pay for unemployment insurance," he said. 

The foreign policy chief also stressed that the EU has worked significantly to provide solutions to the crisis, albeit with less publicity than China or Russia. Although the EU has no competence in health matters, Borrell pointed to economic measures and the repatriation of Europeans abroad. "Thanks to cooperation we have been able to organise flights to bring back citizens to European territory," he said.  

The High Representative also warned against nationalism and authoritarianism, which at this time of crisis are trying to discredit the EU. "Now is the perfect time to return to the arguments that say you have to set up borders, isolate yourself from the rest of the world and protect yourself," he said. Mr Borrell also said that the democratic response has been better than that of authoritarianisms, such as China, and he assured that democratic systems will emerge stronger from this pandemic.

The Vice-President of the European Commission also said that it is necessary to think about new initiatives to face the coming economic crisis. "We have to organise spending programmes, it is no longer a question of helping European countries that cannot get into debt as they did in 2008," he said. 

Borrell gave the example of the proposal that the Spanish government brought to Brussels on Monday to organise a 1.5 trillion euro European fund with perpetual debt. The money from this initiative would be distributed to countries in the form of transfers, instead of debt, among the nations most affected by the crisis. The former foreign minister explained that the coronavirus crisis is not like an earthquake or a war. "After these catastrophes it is necessary to rebuild. This time what we need to do is to maintain people's incomes and provide liquidity to companies," he said. 

Borrell explained, in the round of questions from the public, that the EU is examining some of the direct aid that Germany, which has a surplus, is giving to its companies. "There is a fear that those states with the financial capacity will help their companies recover sooner and that will cause a disruption in the common market," he said. To balance this situation, the EU is considering a new approach for all states to help their companies and avoid disparities when it comes to getting out of the crisis.  

Although the politician has called for greater cooperation between states as a solution to the crisis, he has warned that China and the United States are still fighting and are not working together as in other pandemics. "We still don't know how the world will change after the pandemic. There is a battle of narratives. As in the 2008 crisis, there is a lack of leadership at the international level. The United States has stopped playing that role and has focused on its domestic problems," Borrell concluded.