I know the European Union as an entity has institutional limitations on what it can do but the thing that really seemed odd was the lack of response to Italy's plight from the individual nations. As noted in the intro to March 13's "
No EU Country Responded to Italian Plea for Help with Coronavirus.":
Can this be true?
You'd think in their own self-interest, much less European solidarity,
that the EU members would have been waiting for the opportunity to stand
up and deliver....
From Der Spiegel:
With the wave of coronavirus infections washing over Europe, countries
have turned inward to protect themselves. European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen has struggled to define the EU's role in the crisis
as border checks have been reintroduced across the Continent.
Every morning at 9 a.m., a small group gathers on the 13th floor of the
Berlaymont Building in the European Quarter of Brussels to discuss the
latest in the fight against the novel coronavirus. European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen takes a seat at the head of the table.
Her cabinet head sits, at a significant distance, to her left, while on
her right are her press people. Von der Leyen stares into a large screen
where she can see the commissioners who are dealing with various
aspects of the crisis. Even though their offices are just one or two
floors beneath that of von der Leyen, they nevertheless only meet up by
video link - a precautionary measure because of the virus.
For about an hour one morning last week, the group discussed the
situation on Europe's internal borders, how to bring back European
citizens who are currently overseas and the situation in the industrial
sector.
Europe is taking action, that was the message that the
images of the morning meeting were intended to convey – images that were
sent out on social media channels a short time later. Another truth,
though, was not disseminated: Brussels doesn't have a lot of say when it
comes to the corona crisis. And in those areas where EU institutions do
actually have authority, they are struggling to gain traction.
In short, as the pandemic takes hold in Europe, the decades-old union
is showing its weaknesses. While the EU managed to survive Brexit and
the euro crisis, the corona crisis may yet prove to be an insurmountable
challenge.
Instead of trying to come up with joint solutions, the
Continent is becoming balkanized and is reverting to national
solutions. Instead of helping each other out, EU countries are hoarding
face masks like panicked Europeans are hoarding toilet paper. The early
decisions made by some EU member states to refrain from exporting
medical equipment to Italy – the EU country that has thus far been hit
hardest by the pandemic – has even overshadowed the lack of European
solidarity displayed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the
refugee crisis.
"Europe Is Stronger Together"
Europeans are even divided on
the question as to how to combat the virus. Whereas Germany is eager to
prevent as many people as possible from encountering the virus and
becoming infected, the Netherlands wants to see as many healthy people
as possible fight off COVID-19, thus becoming immune....
