The COVID-19 crisis has shown how difficult European cooperation can be at times, especially in policy areas where the EU has only limited competences in supporting member states. Initially, all member states were inward-looking in their reactions, focusing on unilateral closures of borders and restricting movement, while privileging crisis management at home. European solidarity has largely been absent at first, but, ultimately, the lockdown realities across Europe proved to be quite similar and the need for a concerted and coordinated response from the EU member states and the European institutions became quite clear.
Against this background and drawing on the expertise of various researchers that are part of the European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN), a report dedicated to answering the question how was the cooperation with the EU perceived from a national perspective was elaborated. All in all, 19 institutes from 15 different countries from a representative cross-section of member states (plus Iceland) responded to the call for contributions. On behalf of the European Institute of Romania (EIR), Bogdan Mureșan and Mihai Sebe, experts from the European Studies Unit, have provided such a contribution in the collective report, building on the national response measures and their perceived impact.
The full text of the special report “EU crisis response in tackling Covid-19. Views from the member states”, available in English, may be accessed here.