Coherence on Trial: The Coronavirus Outbreak as a Critical Test for the European Union

Abstract

Starting in Wuhan in December 2019, and making its way all the way to Rome and New York in April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has put the states, alliances and others, square in the face of a serious challenge. However, the question that happens to be a stumbling block this time has never been posed as a problem or obstacle before – the question of public health; a question that has taught the European Union a lesson about what is a top priority and how all the other policies, plans and strategies may seem unimportant overnight. This paper provides an analysis on how the European Union coped with the global threat given its limited legal possibilities, and the unprecedented situation of its Member States becoming the second outbreak point of the pandemic. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic, once again, has opened up the question of solidarity and the coherence within the EU. The conclusions drawn from this research are of great importance as a way to show whether the EU will come out of this situation with a positive outcome, confi rming its values of solidarity and coherence, or whether it will have to undertake drastic reforms in order to consolidate the latter.