Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1226904
12 CORONAVIRUS CRISIS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 MARCH 2020 AS the epicentre of the coronavirus moved from China to Europe in the first weeks of March, the European Union found itself missing in action, with panicked govern- ments stockpiling medical supplies with little regard for their neighbours. When Italy appealed to fellow member states for medical equipment, not a single country volunteered this assistance, each government keen to hoard its supplies for when the virus came for its own citizens. As supplies were unloaded from a Chinese plane in Italy, Italian Foreign Minister Lui- gi Di Maio noted that the aid demonstrat- ed that "we are not alone, there are people in the world who want the help Italy". The contrast was further amplified by the arriv- al of 50 Cuban doctors answering a call by the Lombardy region for help. Surely the EU is also the sum of its mem- ber states, most of which are struggling with the pandemic. Managing healthcare systems, as well as the economic and social consequences of the epidemic, remains en- tirely in the hands of each member state. In Brussels, the European Commission has tried taking the initiative by creating a "coronavirus response team", and an in- vestment fund to alleviate the economic effects of the epidemic. But these actions have not drawn much attention, failing to convince those who continue to ask "what is Europe doing?" Ironically the general response smacked of the "every nation for itself" recipe advo- cated by the far right, with sovereignity re- sulting in situations like Belgians crossing over to the Netherlands to shop, drink and dine. While some were closing their bor- ders, others merely advised not travelling abroad. As some nations closed schools, crèches, restaurants and cafés, others im- posed a quasi-lockdown. The absence of concrete solidarity be- tween European member states in a mo- ment of need led people in the most afflict- ed countries to openly question: where is the EU when we need it? As former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis observed, COVID-19 has re- vealed a fundamental truth: Europe is only as healthy as its sickest resident, and on- ly as prosperous as its most bankrupted. "But the EU's leadership is paralysed by its beggar-thy-neighbour – and now sick- en-thy-neighbour – mindset". Even worse: the unfolding of events showed that the EU failed to pre-empt a pandemic, widely ex- pected in scientific communities. A chronicle of a plague foretold Prof. Roderick Pace, of the University of Malta's European Institute, described the EU's approach to pandemics as "a case of European myopia and half-measures". He considers the response as even more inade- quate because experts had long been warn- ing about the risks. In fact the first warning shots were fired during the SARS outbreak between 2002 and 2004. The rapidity with which it crossed borders convinced the EU to set up the European Centre for Disease Preven- tion and Control (ECDC) in 2005. Its ob- jective was to collect scientific information, cooperate with international organisations such as the World Health Organisation and with national focal points. But as Pace points out, whatever action needed to be taken on its advice, remained firmly in the hands of the member states who are responsible for national health services. "In sum, another EU agency had been created with the capacity to show us the way, but with its hands tightly hand- cuffed behind its back when it came to the mobilisation of a collective European ef- fort." He contrasts this lack of a collective re- sponse with the situation in the United States where the President, the federal ex- ecutive, and Congress have the power to lead the 50 states into battle against COV- ID-19 – albeit noting that the executive has also bungled there, mainly due to the initial dilly-dallying by President Donald Trump. "So when COVID-19 hit Europe it was 'every man for himself'. Belatedly we are witnessing some token and voluntary ges- tures of solidarity from a few EU mem- ber states toward the worst hit countries. These deficiencies are magnified by most welcome external help from China and Cuba. Moreover, the deficiencies are al- so highlighted by the fact that Italy with a population of 60 million and Spain with a population of 47 million, have recorded more deaths than China with a population of 1.4 billion. And the worst is not over yet," Pace says. "Member states can only be partially ex- cused for being caught off-guard. We have had several harbingers of the risks of pan- demics and more could have been done to prepare us for them." In fact, the 2003 European Security Strat- egy and its 2009 review did mention pan- demics with reference to the spread of HIV in developing countries. But the strategy remained detached from the possibility that new pandemics could actually reach Europe's shores. The 2016 EU Global Strategy was slightly more forthcoming, promising to work for more effective prevention, detection and responses to global pandemics. But pan- demics get only two mentions in the doc- ument. "The current pandemic has taught us a few lessons: an effective European Health policy with real powers should be created side-by-side with national health services," Pace says. Moreover, pandemics also have econom- ic and social impacts apart from the obvi- ous health ones and we need to develop an EU-comprehensive approach to deal with all their facets when the need arises. But ultimately, as Pace is quick to remind us, "it is national governments which have to empower the EU". Emergency call: Why is the EU so slow to move? Economist Robert Micallef, who co- chairs the Brussels-based Working Group on the Future of Europe and a former La- bour MEP candidate, thinks the slowness of the EU's response is a reflection of its institutional set-up. "By its nature, the EU moves slowly be- cause, in many cases, it has to carry with its decisions 27 member states that often have divergent starting points and positions with difficult compromises that need to be negotiated." In fact, Europe's policy responses to COVID-19 have so far been mostly at the national level, emphasising differences rather than bringing Europe together in a moment of crisis. Still, he also notes that important de- cisions have been taken at the European level such as the suspension of European budgetary rules and the relaxation of the state aid framework. "These measures have given breathing space for member states that need to address a tough domestic eco- nomic situation with the kind of state in- tervention that is normally not allowed by EU rules." But he contends that an unprecedented crisis requires unprecedented solutions. "I think this crisis will stay with us for longer than we hope and member states need to come together to take big decisions with a view to protecting the European econo- my and way of life in the medium to long term." This, according to Micallef, will require The arrival of a contingent of 50 medics from communist Cuba in Lombardy, one of Italy's hardest-hit regions, has highlighted the absence of a European response to the coronavirus, as member states struggle to make ends meet. Has the EU gone missing when it is most needed? JAMES DEBONO asks Missing in action: Where is the EU in the war against COVID-19?