Is European solidarity in a coma? A view from Italy

The Covid-19 crisis has shown how difficult European cooperation can be, especially in policy areas where the EU has only a legal competence to support member states. At first, all member states were inward-looking in their reactions, unilaterally closing borders and focusing on crisis management at home. European solidarity has largely been absent. Ultimately, however, the lockdown realities across Europe are quite similar. Drawing on the expertise of researchers in our EPIN network, we asked how EU cooperation was perceived in their respective national contexts. Nineteen institutes from 15 different countries from a representative cross-section of member states (plus Iceland) responded to our call.