Policy Briefs

C. Bastasin: A rearview mirror mentality wrapped in a small-country syndrome

A year ago, the European Union reached its Hamiltonian moment. The sense of human solidarity in the face of death and the pandemic had pushed European leaders to make unprecedented choices. The heart attack suffered by the economy resulted in a surge in solidarity. To manifest it, European fiscal rules constraining national welfare expenditures were suspended and a sizable and shared financial facility was established through common debt.

The aim was not only to help the most affected countries to overcome the health and economic crisis, but to create structural convergence among all countries. An economically more homogeneous European Union would be more homogeneous politically as well. As a result, the sharing of common resources and the new political harmony would write a new page in European history.

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