The European Union, a project forged by crisis

As Jean Monnet wrote in his memoirs: "Europe will be forged in crises and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises". I believe this quote to be extremely accurate in describing the history of the European integration, especially its most recent challenge: the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The pandemic has become a landmark event for the EU for several reasons. In economic terms, the variety of instruments used to prevent the economic collapse such as the early suspension of tax rules to boost investment, the rapid injection of liquidity by the ECB and the State aid Temporary Framework have been quick and precise. Nevertheless, the most prominent example of a change in the paradigm of crisis response has been the Next Generation EU, the most important economic recovery plan since the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after the Second World War. A major achievement in this process has been the vast consensus among Member States in advancing with Next Generation EU, while avoiding major divides among countries that could have hindered that plan from progressing – a very different scenario from the sharp North-South divide during the 2008 crisis. The Recovery Plan’s aim is to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic, while simultaneously positioning the EU as a global leader in the ongoing green and digital transitions. In a post-pandemic world, the economic and geopolitical relevance of the EU will very likely depend on how effective it has embraced a more sustainable and digital economy.

In the last Eurobarometer report by the EU Parliament, it can be observed that overall, Europeans are satisfied with the timing and scope of Next Generation EU, and many believe that this instrument has prevented Eurosceptic and populist movements from taking advantage of the crisis. Without the Recovery Fund, the EU would have been enormously weakened. Cognizant of this, leading countries such as Germany and France supported it.

Another major achievement has been the centralized vaccines distribution. During the first peak of the pandemic, EU countries faced significant shortages of medical and sanitary equipment - which led to disputes among Member States. To avoid a similar conflict with vaccine distribution, the European Commission centralised the vaccine rollout and acquisition to ensure citizens from all EU member states would receive the vaccine within the same time frame. I believe that without this centralisation of vaccine distribution, the EU would have been severely damaged and fragmented, which could have led to a major setback for the European project.

However, the rather inward-looking approach of the EU to fight the pandemic has also decreased its influence over the globe. For example, Russia and China’s vaccine diplomacy is significantly weakening the EU’s geopolitical role in crucial geographies such as Latin America, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific. Hence, even though the pandemic has strengthened the EU institutions domestically, its lack of a solid and determined foreign policy is weakening its global position and as most experts argue, accelerating China’s global presence.