A COVID counterfactual for Europe
Apr 11,2021 - Last updated at Apr 11,2021
ATHENS — Imagine that the coronavirus pandemic, rather than undermining confidence in the European Union, had strengthened it. Imagine that COVID-19 had persuaded EU leaders to overcome years of acrimony and fragmentation. Imagine that it had catalysed the emergence this year of a stronger, more integrated bloc to which the world looked for global leadership.
Imagine. It is not hard to do.
At the end of February 2020, two weeks before the World Health Organisation declared a pandemic, the EU Council had already instructed the European Commission to coordinate Europe’s war against the coronavirus. Within days, the Commission compiled a list of essential gear in short supply across Europe, from protective equipment to intensive care units, and placed orders with manufacturers. It also convened Cov-Comm, a committee of top epidemiologists and representatives of EU public health systems to offer daily guidance. Liberated of the need to procure essential supplies and work out optimal travel and social distancing strategies, national governments concentrated on implementing the emergent EU plan.
A COVID Counterfactual for Europe by Yanis Varoufakis project-syndicate.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from project-syndicate.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.