As cases of COVID-19 multiply across the European continent, European Union officials have taken drastic steps to slow the spread of the disease and stem the financial havoc it will wreak. Still, leaders in Brussels have a few more mechanisms at their disposal that could serve to unify EU member states and ease the flow of goods and services, says political science professor Mai’a Cross.
This week, the EU closed its borders to non-residents for at least 30 days, and on Thursday, the European Central Bank took a major step that included a €750 billion asset-purchase program to stem an economic meltdown caused by the pandemic. Leaders in Brussels will also begin collecting medical supplies for a common reserve (which they are calling the “rescEU stockpile”) to be redistributed to the member states that need it most.
