© ESADE

Progress in the construction of Europe has always been made as a result of crises. At first, when faced with a threat affecting all or a considerable number of member states, governments usually respond by seeking solutions at the national level and tend to break ranks with European unity.

This type of strategy has, however, rarely been successful and when it becomes obvious that a problem exceeds the scope of the nation states, a “European solution” is finally implemented. This is how the EU has been built, amongst crises, improvisation and all-night meetings where agreements are reached without the signatories being fully aware of the consequences.

But this is the only way: the only thing that is pooled is the ability to take decisions when one’s own impotence becomes evident. So far, this has worked well and today’s Europe, despite its imperfections, is far better than any other alternative based on conflict rather than cooperation.

European history is full of examples of crises that ended up bolstering the Union. The coronavirus crisis will be no exception.

Despite attempts by certain nations to isolate themselves from others to prevent contagion and its economic fallout, the evidence undeniably shows that this virus knows no borders, that patterns are being repeated and that the only difference is the moment when the epidemic becomes massive in each country.

Hence, the only effective response is a coordinated response by the Union, a response that will have to be improvised as time goes by and the crisis evolves but which will create a series of entities and coordination methods that will forever remain in the legacy of European institutions.

Against this backdrop, this policy insight aims to try to answer three questions…