Rethinking Covid-19 Policy Responses Of EU Institutions

Rethinking Covid-19 Policy Responses Of EU Institutions

The European Union (EU) has been fighting against a crisis brought by the Covid-19 since the year 2020. This paper aims to discuss the measures taken by the EU institutions. Member states have had conventional reactions even though the pandemic has been an unconventional threat. However, solutions limited to national level and conventional reactions have been damaging to European integration. The paper limits the research with evaluating the policy responses of Council of the EU, European Commission and European Parliament to Covid-19. Methodologically the paper is based upon qualitative data gathered from the official documents, related news in the mainstream global media and Eurobarometer public opinion polls since March 2020. It is argued in the paper that those three institutions have been reflecting the differentiated faces of the Union in tackling the crisis. Therefore, it is concluded that the EU has needed to take into account the increased voice of the European Parliament on Covid-19 measures in order to promote solidarity in the continent and to protect European integration.

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