Political Symptoms of a Pandemic: What’s next for the EU? – New Europe

Truth be told, I spend a good part of my day following social media even more so during these past few days of self-isolation in my Brussels apartment.

If I were to identify one prevailing theme among all the memes doing the rounds of Instagram, that would be we all make fun of all those grabbing every last toilet paper roll and pack of linguini from the supermarket rack. But what happens when national Governments across the EU start behaving this way?

Somewhere between European capitals on intensified lockdown and an unavoidable Coronavirus-led recession, the pandemic brings another reality: the return of internal borders and the comeback of the Nation-State.

National Governments stepping up to their financial and organizational strengths, as people are physically distancing themselves to fight the pandemic, is understandable, it makes sense and, if kept within the boundaries of this extraordinary crisis, it is as it should be.

However, there is also an emotional aspect to this development, for which the political ground was already set before this crisis: Rightwing parties and movements loud anti-migrant and anti-refugee voices, calling for walls and the protection of traditional identities, have recently been matched by a left-leaning environmental movement promoting localization and calling for the cut down of air travel.

Politicians across the spectrum understand that people think in stories and when facing a crisis, people often stop believing in those stories. But when you no longer have a story, you cant explain whats happening.

We observed this in the aftermath of the recent financial and migration crisis. In the years between 2008, the beginning of the financial crisis that turned into a political crisis, and 2019 a very large segment of the citizens stopped believing in the story. They felt like they had lost their constants, their traditional points of reference.

Our economies were global, but our politics had remained local.

And their reaction was the one wed have if we had lost our way in a large city; going back to the point where we started, the point where we felt more secure and start over.

The old 20th-century political model of left versus right became largely irrelevant, and the real divide became that of truth versus post-truth and moderates versus extremists.

Now lets come back to the crisis we are currently facing. It has demonstrated the fragility of our global supply chains, be it medical equipment or autarky of food supply and has reinforced emotions of protectionism.

The irony is that most economists would agree its exactly this situation of fighting a global pandemic that should call for a more streamlined form of European governance, with Governments acting together under the coordination of a strong Leadership.

Lets take as an example public health, where, according to the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union only has what in EU jargon we call a shared competence (Art. 168 TFEU). National Governments define and deliver their national health services, while the EU machinery manages a limited budget of less than 100 million Euros per year. The EU doesnt legally have the competence or the budget to act and manage a streamlined European response to the pandemic, yet many were quick to criticize Brussels for not showing leadership in managing the current crisis.

On the other hand, lets look at the EUs response in a field where it does have competence, the monetary union. The European Central Bank was fast to unleash 750 billion Euros in a temporary bond-buying programme to alleviate the impact of the pandemic. Isnt this Leadership?

And lets finally look at the response of Governments imposing restrictions on exports of medical supplies, a position politically understandable, but unreasonable and counter-productive in the case of a global pandemic. Is this really Leadership?

While the coronavirus crisis has temporarily brought our borders back, we should really look at it as an opportunity to strengthen our Union.

Our economies and supply chains will remain global, so lets give the EU the competences and the funds to play an effective role next time around.

Often, I describe the EU as an archaic typewriter in a digital era; It needs to change, it needs to modernize its structures, and it needs to upgrade its role and leadership. But its up to national Governments to provide it with the necessary funds and competencies in order to turn it into a powerful smartphone.

So, truth be told: we are all in this together. Lets begin, citizens and national Governments, by no longer grabbing every last toilet paper roll and pack of linguini from the supermarket rack.

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Political Symptoms of a Pandemic: What's next for the EU? - New Europe

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