EU crisis response in tackling Covid-19. Views from the Member States

In Austria, a country that traditionally has concerns about the transfer of additional competences to the EU, the population demands bolder actions in the realm of public health – and even a transfer of the exercise of sovereign powers in this area. [...] With the coordination of the Covid-19 crisis management now mainly in the hands of the European Council, and with the EU presidency just around the corner, Germany has an even greater responsibility to navigate the EU safely through this unprecedented crisis. [...] Greece welcomed the lifting of the 33% threshold for the purchase of government bonds, the suspension of SGP terms, the relaxation of cohesion programmes and state aid rules to provide flexibility to member states, and the deployment of complementary financial instruments, such as European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF), the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII), the EIB’s financing pack. [...] In the days after the outbreak of the pandemic, the initial reaction of many member states seemed far from supportive to the majority of Italians, even to the most Europhile among them. [...] In fact, a poll from YouGov shows that the 84% of Spaniards demand a more cohesive response from the EU; 67% of the Spanish population considers that being member of the EU is a good thing (above the EU average) and – most relevant – the younger generations have the most positive image of EU membership.