The EU Has Failed Europe over Coronavirus

by Con Coughlin • April 16, 2020 at 5:00 am

All the evidence suggests that the majority of European governments are ignoring the EU's advice, and acting unilaterally to tackle the impact of the pandemic on their citizens.
The divergence in approach among various member states indicates that European leaders are -- as they have been from the outset -- acting selfishly in their own national interest rather than for the good of the EU as a whole.
It also means they are in breach of some of the EU's fundamental principles, such as the single market which requires all member states to conduct business on an equal footing. The fact that several countries are allowing various businesses, such as construction, to return to work, whereas in other nations they have been banned from operating during the lockdown, means that disparities will inevitably develop in the economies of member states, a fact that is likely to increase tensions between European leaders in the months to come.
The problem for the EU is that, now that so many European countries have already taken matters into their own hands, any attempt by Brussels to impose a unified approach to ending the lockdown will surely be a case of too little, too late.

The deepening divisions among European nations over their response to the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the inability of the European Union to provide strong and effective leadership in times of crisis. Pictured: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen holds a press conference on the EU response to the COVID-19 crisis on April 15, 2020, in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by John Thys/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Faced with arguably the greatest challenge Europe has faced since the end of the Second World War, the EU's failure to help coordinate the actions of the 27-nation bloc in tackling Covid-19 has once again brought the organisation's institutional failings into sharp focus.

Not only has the Brussels bureaucracy been unable to provide vital medical assistance to stricken countries in the form of badly-needed protective clothing and key equipment, such as ventilators. The EU has also completely failed in its efforts to provide financial support for those countries, such as Italy and Spain, that have been worst affected by the crisis.

The EU's inability or unwillingness to respond should raise fresh questions about the EU's long-term future.

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Germany: Still Too Much Free Speech, Says the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance

by Judith Bergman • April 16, 2020 at 4:00 am

Europe has a large web of hate speech laws and policies, thanks in part to the efforts of ECRI -- an unelected body -- and the Council of Europe.
Finally, ECRI "strongly welcomes the German government's implementation of its recommendation [in ECRI's fifth report on Germany] to introduce into the law an obligation to discontinue the public financing of political parties and other organisations that promote racism" and recommends that such a procedure against the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party be examined.
Since 1994, ECRI has been dispensing its highly politicized recommendations to European governments in confidential government consultations removed from public scrutiny. Only the final reports are published.
As this kind of arguably undemocratic governance, where an unelected body of "experts" tells national governments how to govern on fundamental issues such as freedom of speech, has been ongoing for several decades now, one can only assume that either Europeans approve of these measures or are entirely ignorant of them.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recently published its sixth monitoring report on Germany. Even though Germany has some of the most repressive hate speech laws in Europe, ECRI decided that, according to it, Germany is still not doing enough.

Never heard of ECRI? Here are a few words by way of introduction:

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