The struggles of EU in the fight against Covid

What kind of Europe do we want in our present and future, and what values do we want to pursue? The fight against the Covid pandemic has put all of us to the test

Leaders of the EU are in these times of crises calling for a strong and connected Europe, united in

Back in 2014, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, announced a re-evaluation on the economic-political area due to the uprising of EU-sceptic parties in the UK, Greece, Denmark, France, Ireland and Italy. Last year, this trend continued in some member states with wins in national elections (UK, Hungary, Italy, Poland and France).

The EU-scepticism

The Maastricht Treaty started the increasing polarisation, as it transformed from an economical into a multilevel, integrated, political system. The 2008 crisis led to huge economic differences among member states and pointed out related weaknesses in the EU, reaching a peak with the immense migration influx from western countries. Since that period, we have witnessed a general violation of human rights and an increase in aggression and hate speech among citizens and political leaders. After 47 years of membership, the UK left the EU after an incredibly close outcome of the referendum in 2016. The outcome is a clear indicator of the polarization of European society. The rise of EU-scepticism provoked by

In 2017, the EU opened an investigation on Poland due to a potential breach on the rule of law, deterioration of democracy and fundamental rights. Back in July, the Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (PCLC) adopted a draft resolution on the matter, approved by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D group). In particular, Section 7.1 TEU was triggered, and even after the hearing, held on December 2018, the MEPs were even more concerned about the issue at stake. The investigation on Poland was also a call for Bulgaria as they tried to do a similar remodelling. In September, the EP adopted a resolution on this concern.

Reliable information

Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right and is crucial for the functioning of a democratic society. However, over two-thirds of Europeans encounter fake news rather than facts at least once a week. To ensure all the measures taken by member states ‘respect the fundamental rights of each individual’ and are ‘necessary, proportional and temporary’, the PCLC has been closely monitoring the matter. In April of this year, MEPs asked for a European information source to ensure access to reliable updates on the pandemic. In response,  a dedicated coronavirus website has been launched and provides real-time information on Covid-19 and the EU’s response. Furthermore, the Commission set up a Monitoring Programme che fa che cosa?.

Overall, the increase we observe of these policies is endangering the future of the EU. The question therefore is: what kind of Europe do we want in our present and future, and what values do we want to pursue? Fighting extremism with extremism is Sisyphus’ work. Instead,  we should strive towards the education of open-minded people, that value and respect each other and understand the benefits of the EU and its role in the world.