Insight
The COVID-19 pandemic: The EU must think and act globally by Ian Bond 27 March 2020
European leaders are naturally focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their own continent. But a global crisis demands more than local solutions; the EU should do more beyond its borders. The COVID-19 coronavirus is overwhelming European hospitals and the death toll is rising; meanwhile, lockdowns are laying waste to economies. Not surprisingly, the top priority for European leaders’ video conferences is how to mitigate the human and economic damage to their countries. Even so, the EU cannot afford to neglect the impact of the spread of COVID-19 beyond its borders. CER researchers have already proposed steps to ensure that the short- and longer-term economic impacts of the crisis are limited, and to improve the co-ordination of national responses. But the COVID-19 crisis is global, not just European. In the coming weeks, the medical situation in Europe will deteriorate, but (if China, Japan and South Korea are anything to go by) thereafter it will stabilise and improve. Economies may take longer to recover. But as the peak of the epidemic passes, the EU should turn its attention to the implications for the Union’s external policies – whether in relation to aid, trade or international security. The pandemic cries out for a cross-cutting multilateral approach of the kind the EU tells the world it is good at devising. A decade ago, the EU might have been able to look to the US to lead an international response to a pandemic. It cannot wait for President Donald Trump to act, however: ‘America first’ remains his watchword. The EU itself needs to step forward, and to convene its international partners. Following the latest G20 leaders’ video conference on March 26th, there are encouraging signs that the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel respectively, are taking the initiative: they issued a joint statement calling for “fast, massive and co-ordinated global action… to save lives and avoid a further economic crisis”. The EU should start by looking at the needs of neighbouring regions, even if its ability to assist them is limited at present. It should not neglect the economic impact of the pandemic on emerging markets. The crisis is leading to huge capital outflows; the European Central Bank could agree swap lines to provide CER INSIGHT: The COVID-19 pandemic: The EU must think and act globally 27 March 2020
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