Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
As European countries emerge from lockdown, Europe needs to prepare for the geostrategic shifts that will take place in the post-coronavirus world.
The silver lining to the uncertainty and chaos of the coronavirus pandemic is that EU member states are more aware than ever of the need for cooperation.
With the pandemic messing up the Brexit negotiations and weakening the British prime minister, prospects for a wide-ranging UK-EU deal by the end of 2020 are vanishing fast.
Germany is emerging from the first phase of the pandemic with some scars, but broadly in good shape. When Berlin takes over the EU presidency, Chancellor Angela Merkel will have to show the way toward a reinvigorated and more dynamic EU.
From arms control to trade, the post-1945 order is crumbling fast. To protect its democratic way of life, Europe must create new global alliances built to deal with a post-pandemic world.
While the coronavirus crisis has helped UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s approval rating, it hasn’t helped his party, and British voters are now losing faith in the government’s handling of it.
Europe is well placed to push for reforms of global cooperation and governance after the coronavirus pandemic. But to do that, Europe itself must change first.
By trying to manage the financial fallout of the coronavirus without also providing democratic reform, the EU will unleash another cycle of the legitimacy problems it has suffered since the eurozone crisis.
The fight against the coronavirus has sparked a political revival for Angela Merkel. Now, the German chancellor must also adopt a coherent foreign policy strategy for how to deal with China.
Democracy and the rule of law are being undermined in Hungary and Poland. While all focus is on the coronavirus, the EU institutions and the big member states are doing little to protect core values.