Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1245222
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MAY 2020 OPINION IN 1950, Europe was in crisis, still devastated physically and economically by the effects of World War II, and polit- ically searching for a way to ensure that the horrors of the war could never be repeated. Against this dark backdrop, on May 9, French Foreign Minis- ter Robert Schuman outlined his vision for how Europe could achieve this objective, by creating common institutions to make war not just unthink- able but materially impossible. His words changed the course of history and laid the founda- tions on which his generation and future ones built the Euro- pean Union we have today. The 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration comes at another moment of crisis for Europe. Across our continent, more than 100,000 have died because of the coronavirus in the last months. Hundreds of millions have faced unprec- edented restrictions in their daily lives to help contain the spread of the virus. As leaders of the three main EU institutions, our thoughts today are first with all those who have lost loved ones. Our gratitude is to the essential workers who have continued to work throughout this cri- sis. Those on the frontline in our hospitals and care homes, fighting to save lives, but also the delivery drivers, shop assis- tants, police officers, all those working to ensure that daily life can continue. We are also thankful for the spirit of solidarity and civic re- sponsibility that European citi- zens have shown. The millions who have volunteered to help in whatever way they can dur- ing the crisis, be it shopping for an elderly neighbour, stitching face masks, or raising money to give to those in need. Eu- rope is at its best when it shows warmth and solidarity. Europe acted boldly to ensure that the single market could still function, allowing medical supplies to arrive where doc- tors and nurses needed them, ventilators to arrive where they could save lives, and food and essential goods to get to our shops where Europeans could find them on the shelves. We took unprecedented de- cisions to ensure national gov- ernments had the fiscal capac- ity they needed to tackle the immediate crisis. We trans- formed the European Stability Mechanism into an instrument to fight COVID-19. We have made 100 billion Euros availa- ble to keep Europeans in jobs, by supporting national short- time work systems. And the European Central Bank pro- vided unprecedented support to ensure lending to people and businesses continued. We still need to do much more. As our Member States are tentatively and gradually lifting lockdowns and restric- tions, the first priority must remain saving lives and pro- tecting the most vulnerable in our societies. We must con- tinue to do all we can to sup- port research into a vaccine for the coronavirus. The success of the coronavirus global re- sponse pledging conference of 4 May, which has raised €7.4 billion and has brought under the same roof global health or- ganisations to work together on vaccines, treatments and di- agnostics, shows just how rap- idly the world can rally behind a common cause. We need to sustain this mobilisation and keep the world united against coronavirus. Europe can play a decisive role here. At the same time, all mem- ber states must have the fiscal space needed to deal with the ongoing medical emergency. And we need to prepare for the recovery. After fearing for their lives, many Europeans now fear for their jobs. We must restart Europe's econom- ic engine. Let us remember the spirit of Robert Schuman and his peers - inventive, daring and pragmatic. They showed that getting out of moments of crisis required new politi- cal thinking and breaking from the past. We must do the same and recognise that we will need new ideas and tools to support our own recovery. We must recognise that the Europe that will come out of this crisis can- not and will not be the same as the one that entered it. First, we must do more to improve the lives of the poor- est and most vulnerable in our societies. Too many in Europe were struggling to make ends meet before this crisis even be- gan. Now millions more face an uncertain future, having lost their jobs or businesses. Young people and women are particu- Ursola von der Leyen, Charles Michel, Davide Sassoli Europe must emerge stronger from this crisis The authors are the presidents of the European Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament