Von der Leyen: Europe is ‘world’s beating heart of solidarity’ on coronavirus

Europe ‘has done more in the last four weeks’ to battle the pandemic than ‘in the first four years’ of the financial crisis, EU chief says.

Europe has become “the world’s beating heart of solidarity” in the coronavirus crisis that will likely redefine “our politics, our geopolitics and possibly globalization itself,” European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said on Thursday.

Speaking from the European Parliament, where MEPs are holding their second semi-virtual plenary since the start of the pandemic, von der Leyen acknowledged that “no one was really ready” for the outbreak, and “many weren’t there when Italy needed a helping hand,” referring to the country that was at the start of the crisis the most hard-hit in Europe.

“But it is also true that Europe has become the world’s beating heart of solidarity,” von der Leyen added, citing examples from across Europe, including “paramedics from Poland and doctors from Romania” saving lives in Italy. “The true Europe is standing up,” she said.

MEPs are set to vote today on — among other measures — a €3 billion emergency support package for the health sectors of EU countries most hit by the crisis. They will also vote on a nonbinding resolution proposing that the EU have “greater powers” to act on cross-border health threats and put in place recovery bonds guaranteed by its long-term budget.

Von der Leyen said that with the package of emergency measures MEPs will vote today, “we are now reaching the limits of what we can do.”

“Europe has had economic crisis before,” she added. “But we’ve never have an economic shutdown like this. Nobody is to blame and everybody will need support … Europe has done more in the last four weeks than it did in the first four years in the last crisis.”

She ended her speech reiterating that the EU’s next long-term budget, the so-called Multiannual Financial Framework will be the “mothership” of Europe’s recovery. The debate over the MFF had stalled even before the coronavirus crisis hit and both von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel have acknowledged it would be redrawn to play a central role in the economic reconstruction.

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