Opinion

Italian ambassador to the EU: Italy needs Europe’s help

The coronavirus crisis must be met with European solidarity and quick, effective action.

A hairdresser adjusts her mask at a hair saloon in Rome | Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images

Maurizio Massari is the Italian permanent representative to the European Union.

The coronavirus crisis is not just a national crisis. It’s a European crisis, and it needs to be treated as such.

Surmounting it will require scientific expertise, sound civic management and responsibility on the part of individual citizens — but it will also require political courage, vision and solidarity on the part of European governments and EU institutions.

Italy, the European country struck hardest by the coronavirus, has done everything it can to contain and manage the epidemic. Since the beginning of the crisis, the government has acted swiftly, boldly and with full transparency, putting its citizens’ health first.

After the World Health Organization designated the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, Rome declared a state of emergency for a period of six months. Italy also stopped all flights from and to China.

This is a battle in which we are facing two terrible enemies: panic and selfishness.

After the first local case was reported in Lombardy on February 20, the government adopted measures to contain the virus, putting 11 municipalities on lockdown. As the epidemic continued to grow, it introduced unprecedented measures, extending the lockdown to all of Lombardy and then to the rest of the country.

Italian residents have been asked to curtail their movements. Public activities, including school attendance, sports gatherings, even weddings and funerals, have been suspended.

But Rome should not be left to handle this crisis alone. In addition to national measures, this is a crisis that requires a global and — first and foremost — a European response.

We are thankful to the European Commission for its positive engagement and to the president of the European Council for promoting a consultation among European Union leaders in order to discuss further coordination and possible common action.

But it’s time now for the EU to go beyond engagement and consultations, with emergency actions that are quick, concrete and effective.

To begin with, we must ensure, under EU coordination, the supply of the necessary medical equipment and its redistribution among those countries and regions most in need. Today, this means Italy; tomorrow, the need could be elsewhere.

Italy has already asked to activate the European Union Mechanism of Civil Protection for the supply of medical equipment for individual protection. But, unfortunately, not a single EU country responded to the Commission’s call. Only China responded bilaterally. Certainly, this is not a good sign of European solidarity.

Next, to ensure equity and transparency, it is crucial that the EU adopts a common approach to detecting and reporting coronavirus cases, with common guidelines for the entire bloc.

Finally, we must acknowledge that the impact of the epidemic on the economy will be heavy, particularly so for Italy (Lombardy and Veneto account for almost a third of the country’s economic activity), but also for the whole of Europe and the global economy.

Industrial supply chains, trade in goods and services and tourism have already been affected. With Europe at risk of a new recession, or worse, we must not content ourselves with damage control. We need vision and courageous economic measures.

We are facing exactly the type of emergency in which a “Europe that protects” must show it can deliver.

History shows that crises can be turned into an opportunity to do things that governments and institutions would be unable to do in ordinary times. This is one of those occasions.

In addition to the necessity for increased flexibility under the Stability and Growth Pact, there is much the EU can do using existing funds and mechanisms.

These include the creation of a new tool to support health care costs and help blunt the economic consequences of quarantine. This could be funded through the special instruments already foreseen in the EU budget.

Similarly, the scope of action under the European Solidarity Fund in the 2020 EU budget could be changed and targeted specifically to the economic consequences of coronavirus.

Another area of concern is the small and medium enterprises that represent the backbone of the Italian and European economies and that will be or have already been hard hit by the coronavirus crisis.

It is important that we rapidly adopt EU guidelines and ad hoc instruments to provide them with an immediate lifeline and easier access to credit. This could be accomplished through mechanisms like the European Globalization Adjustment Fund or the European Investment Bank.

State aid measures related to the exceptional circumstances and disturbances to the economy caused by the coronavirus should also be allowed.

Meanwhile, as EU leaders discuss the bloc’s next seven-year budget — known as the Multiannual Financial Framework — they should make sure they take into account the lessons of coronavirus and the need for Europe to address effectively unpredictable crises.

This is a battle in which we are facing two terrible enemies: panic and selfishness.

Panic leads to irrational and irresponsible behavior by citizens and economic stakeholders. Selfishness leads to the adoption of a lose-lose, beggar-thy-neighbor logic and to discriminatory or speculative actions. Neither should be acceptable.

We are facing exactly the type of emergency in which a “Europe that protects” must show it can deliver. Unless we wake up immediately, we run the risk of going down in history like the leaders in 1914 who sleepwalked into World War I. The virus will pass, but any rotten seeds of complacency or selfishness will stay.

The coronavirus crisis is a test of the EU’s cohesiveness and credibility — one that can only be passed through genuine, concrete solidarity. Europe must act according to the principle of mutual defense and help those members whose security is under threat.

If we are courageous and united, we will win. If we are selfish and divided, we will lose.

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