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Times of crisis can be formative. As the European Union grapples with how to respond to the worst pandemic and economic crisis in a century, it is fuelling debate about what the bloc should be, and even about the future of globalisation and capitalism itself.

Next Thursday, when the leaders of the 27 member states gather over video conference, they will be split according to whether they want a pared-back EU that is primarily an economic and trade arrangement, or a better-funded bloc that smooths economic inequalities between members and promotes European interests in the wider world.

We are at a moment of truth, which is to decide whether the European Union is a political project or just a market project. I think its a political project, French president Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with the Financial Times, in which he said agreeing jointly-backed debt was essential to prevent the rise of populists across the Mediterranean.

We need financial transfers and solidarity, if only so that Europe holds on, he said.

Ireland, Italy, Spain, France and four other countries have backed the appeal for shared debt, arguing it is a structural shift appropriate to the scale of the challenges posed by the pandemic. But a block of northern states have ruled out the idea.

Italy and the Netherlands represent the two poles of the debate. The gulf in views in each country shows how euroscepticism has taken on different forms across the EU, even as it grew in reaction to old standoffs and worked its way into the heart of domestic politics.

In the Netherlands, a storied euro-critical streak has long favoured a cheaper and less integrated EU where every state must strictly follow spending rules.

According to this view, Dutch taxpayers paid the price for the profligacy of Mediterranean states through the bailouts of the euro zone debt crisis of the 2010s, and granting any extra cent to the EU budget is a domestic political embarrassment.

In Italy, eurocritical sentiment demands an EU of greater largesse. Disillusionment with the bloc is driven by a sense of abandonment, a belief that EU help has been insufficient, and by old bitterness over years of austerity and stagnant growth due to a combination of domestic problems, old debt obligations, and EU spending restraints.

The campaign for joint debt received a boost on Friday when the European Parliament voted with a large majority in favour of recovery bonds in a motion backed by the chambers main political groups.

Another idea advocated by MEPs from Macrons Renew Europe group promotes a grand bargain in which the European Commission would borrow directly from markets, and be given the power to directly repay it by raising money by taxation of things like plastic.

But the debate provoked by the crisis goes beyond how to fund spending, extending to questioning the current model of capitalism itself. According to a manifesto published by 170 Dutch scientists, it is the way economic growth is measured that should be altered, to discount fossil fuel industries and incentivise spending on public transport, education, and health systems.

Macron declared the crisis will change the nature of globalisation.

Particularly in recent years it increased inequalities in developed countries. And it was clear that this kind of globalisation was reaching the end of its cycle, it was undermining democracy, he said.

How will the debate on the future of the EU be resolved?

All eyes are turned to the heavyweight who is often the last to lay her cards on the table: German chancellor Angela Merkel, a cautious political operator known for making bounds of leadership in the past. Many believe that if Merkel believes the European project is at stake, she will act.

The former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta has sounded the alarm. There is a mortal risk for the European Union and we have to act to avoid this mortal risk, Letta told a briefing of the Institute of International and European Affairs. I think the last chance is next Thursday, the European Council next week.

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EU at moment of truth after crisis divisions - The Irish Times

China and the European Union are pushing President TrumpDonald John TrumpMichael Cohen to be released early from prison amid coronavirus pandemic: report Biden assembling White House transition team Top Republicans call on Trump to fund WHO pending director-general's resignation MORE to restore funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) after he announced late Tuesday that financial support would be halted pending a review of its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chinese and European Union officials condemned the presidents decision tohalt U.S. funding, which supported about 15 percent of WHOs 2019 budget, amounting to more than $400 million, Reuters reported.

When asked whether China would fill the U.S.s gaps in funding, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijiansaid that Beijing will look into relevant issues according to the needs of the situation, according to the news service.

Zhao reportedly added that the pandemic was at a vital point and the U.S.s lack of fundingwould affect worldwide efforts to fight coronavirus.

The European Unions foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, joined the criticism, callingTrump's decisionunjustified.

Deeply regret U.S. decision to suspend funding to @WHO. There is no reason justifying this move at a moment when their efforts are needed more than ever, Borrell tweeted. Only by joining forces we can overcome this crisis that knows no borders.

Deeply regret US decision to suspend funding to @WHO. There is no reason justifying this move at a moment when their efforts are needed more than ever to help contain & mitigate the #coronavirus pandemic. Only by joining forces we can overcome this crisis that knows no borders.

Trump announced that the U.S. would stop funding WHO at his Tuesday press briefing until a review of the global health organizations management of the coronavirus pandemic is undertaken.

The reality is that the WHO failed to adequately obtain, vet and share information in a timely and transparent fashion, the president said.

Democrats and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterresalso blasted Trumps decision, saying it will hurt the worlds responseto the ongoing pandemic, in whichnearly 2 million peopleworldwide have been infected and at least 127,590 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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China, EU push Trump to restore WHO funding | TheHill - The Hill

BRUSSELS/KINSHASA/DAKAR, 12April 2020 - A UNICEF shipment of 63 cubic metres of vital health supplies landed yesterdayin Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on a Belgian repatriation flight, co-financed by the European Union (EU).

The shipment includes oxygen concentrators, basic surgical equipment, stethoscopes, antibiotics, nutrition items, kits for midwives and items for maternal and neonatal health. The supplies will be distributed to health centres, where they are urgently needed to respond to health epidemics such as measles, cholera and malaria as well as the coronavirus. The supplies will support UNICEFs humanitarian work for children and families in DRC, as well as provide support to the preventive efforts to the coronavirus pandemic in coordination with the wider UN response.

This an excellent example of global solidarity in these difficult times and a way to maximise our resources. At the time when the EU is working hard in getting EU citizens back from across the world, we are glad that these flights can be also be used to support our humanitarian partners such as UNICEF, said EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenari.

We are grateful for the support from the European Union and Belgium, said Director of UNICEF Supply Division, Etleva Kadilli. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, it has remained our priority to ensure that life-saving supplies continue to reach the most vulnerable children, particularly those affected by emergencies.

As cases of COVID-19 infections in DRC rise and the situation is becoming more critical every day, medical supplies are urgently needed to support the countrys already overburdened health system to fight against COVID-19 and other health epidemics which are killing thousands of thousands of children every year, said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Representative in the DRC.

UNICEF DRC coronavirus response is currently focused on the city of Kinshasa which is the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic in the DRC at this time. UNICEF is closely following and responding to the development of the outbreak in the country with a particular focus on health centres and maternity wards, therapeutic nutrition centres, IDP settlements, coronavirus treatment centres, entry points as well as gathering points such as transit and referral centres, temporary hosting structures or therapeutic feeding centres and in the community.

In the DRC, the EUs humanitarian aid supports the Ebola response in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, the nutritional surveillance of children and mothers, implements programmes to fight Cholera and building resilience after floods and natural disasters.

The flight to Kinshasa wasco-financed by the EU at 75% via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Belgium has activated this mechanism for consular assistance to repatriate Belgian and other EU citizens from DRC.

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The European Union and Belgium support UNICEF in shipping vital supplies to the Democratic Republic of the Congo - UNICEF

The EU funds should directly support healthcare systems in EU member states in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The initiative should allow the EU to buy urgent medical supplies, such as masks and respiratory equipment, transport medical equipment and patients in cross-border regions, finance the recruitment of additional healthcare professionals to be deployed to hotspots across the European Union, as well as helping member states to construct mobile field hospitals.

A total of 3.08 billion from the EU budget will be channelled mainly through the Emergency Support Instrument (2.7 billion) and through rescEU (380 million).

The package includes additional funds to finance repatriation flights (45 million) under EU Civil Protection Mechanism to reunite families stranded in third countries, to provide more resources for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (3.6 million), but also to help Greece deal with increased migratory pressures (350 million), and to support Albania's post-earthquake reconstruction (100 million).

Budget Committee MEPs already called in March for available financial means remaining in the 2020 budget to be mobilised.

Vote results for the package:

Background

Recently, the Commission proposed two Draft Amending Budgets (DAB 1/2020 and 2/2020) as part of a comprehensive set of measures to provide support in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Emergency Support Instrument (ESI) was created in 2016 to deal with the massive influx of refugees in Greece.

The rescEU medical capacity stock will be hosted by one or several member states. The hosting state will be responsible for procuring the equipment. The Commission will finance 100% of the medical supplies. The Emergency Response Coordination Centre will manage the distribution of the equipment to ensure it goes where it is needed most.

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COVID-19: MEPs free up over 3 billion to support EU healthcare sector | News - EU News

The European Union and UK government have agreed to resume post-Brexit talks next week, where they will confront entrenched divisions on trade and fishing rights over video link.

The two sides released a timetable for the next three rounds of negotiations in an attempt to get coronavirus-disrupted talks back on track, following a video conference on Wednesday between the prime ministers chief negotiator, David Frost, and his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier.

Following Brexit day on 31 January, the EU and UK managed only one round of talks before coronavirus crashed them. There were two cancelled sessions and the lead players were put into isolation.

Barnier came down with coronavirus in March and has recovered. Frost, who had mild symptoms of the virus, is no longer self-isolating. While the two leads were confined to their homes, the EU and UK continued working on draft legal texts, but progress ground to a halt.

In a joint statement, the two sides said recent technical work had been useful to identify all major areas of divergence and convergence, but they agreed there was a need to organise further talks in order to make real, tangible progress in the negotiations by June.

The next round will begin next week, with further talks scheduled for the weeks of 11 May and 1 June. Agendas for the negotiating sessions have not yet been published, but are expected to cover the 11 key topics of post-Brexit talks, including trade, security policy and fisheries.

During the video call, Frost told Barnier the UK did not intend to seek an extension to the 11-month transition period, which ends on 31 December 2020.

Yet EU diplomats are increasingly convinced that London will ask for an extension, as the fallout from coronavirus hammers the global economy and consumes political energy across Europe.

Any decision to extend the transition must be agreed by both sides by 1 July and would require a deal on new payments into the EU budget. The transition period which keeps the UK in the EU single market and customs union without voting rights can be prolonged for up to two years, but only once.

As the clock ticks down, EU diplomats are dismayed the UK has failed to produce a draft legal text on fisheries, despite a goal to agree on fishing rights covering 100 shared species by 1 July.

The absence of a UK text is perceived as an attempt by the British to gain the upper hand by attempting to delay difficult issues until the last minute. EU sources insist there will be no agreement on anything without a deal on fish.

The two sides have not narrowed their differences on any of the major sticking points, such as agreement on common environmental, social and competition law standards for free trade, or the role of the European court of justice.

Last Friday the UK handed two legal texts to the EU, covering energy and law enforcement, adding to previous documents sent to Brussels, which cover trade, air safety, air transport and civil nuclear.

The British have irritated EU diplomats by denying Barnier permission to share these texts with national capitals. That means the 27 EU member states, who will make the ultimate decision on the terms of the future relationship, are relying on analysis and summaries from Barnier and his negotiating team, rather than the original documents.

The commission has published its 440-page draft legal text online, reflecting its longstanding Brexit transparency policy and the reality that documents rarely remain secret for long in Brussels.

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EU and UK government to resume post-Brexit talks next week - The Guardian