Jacques Delors warned that the lack of European solidarity in the face of the coronavirus crisis puts the EU in “mortal danger”. In this policy paper, Thierry Chopin, Sébastien Maillard and Nicole Koenig review the role of solidarity as one of the central guiding principles of the European project. The lack thereof in past crises has been a source of Euroscepticism. To regain the hearts and minds of the citizens, European solidarity urgently requires a political embodiment. The EU needs:
- The collective activation of the European solidarity clause enshrined in the Treaties
- A Franco-German impetus to build a broad solidarity coalition
- A European “face” that would publicly be associated with the solidarity measures
- More strategic communication on internal solidarity and leadership on external solidarity
Dr Thierry Chopin is the special advisor at the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris.
Sébastien Maillard is the director at the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris.