The EU has been under pressure for some time, even before the Brexit vote in the UK. Brexit gave the EU a tough blow and other countries are seriously looking at probably leaving the EU now – Italy and France being two main contenders. That was before coronavirus; now things have deteriorated and the trust in the EU is eroding fast. Italy was left on its own at the height of the pandemic, which is not over yet, and so were other European countries, solidarity be damned.

So, particularly Italy and France will do some tough talk when this is over. The EU is feeling the danger and now wants Eurozone countries to reopen, so businesses can start to sell and cash will flow. EU president Ursula von der Leyen made some comments as below:

European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, tweets out a message

“The restrictive measures taken by Member States have been crucial in reducing the number of new infections. This has helped our health systems to cope but these measures come at a huge price..

This roadmap is not a signal that containment measures can be lifted as of now but intends to provide a frame for Member State decisions. In general, we recommend a gradual approach and every action should be continuously monitored..

Our recommendations focus on three main pre-conditions:

1. Significant decrease in the spread of the #coronavirus
2. Sufficient health system capacity
3. Adequate surveillance and monitoring capacity”