The countries of the “one house called the EU” are closing – in the fight against the pandemic, everyone for himself. Globalization is no longer remembered, another era has come – fragmentation. And at the borders, lines are lining up of citizens left to their fate, who have recently taken pride in “shared values”.
RIA Novosti discussed how Europeans feel and how the EU will change after the general quarantine.
Virus after migrants
In the streets of Paris – troops and armored vehicles. French President Emmanuelle Macron said the nation is at war today.
“Well, the situation is complicated, and only good old nationalism helps to cope. By the way, he came back very quickly when there was an acute threat”, – says a resident of the French capital Henri Robier about the mood of Parisians. – “Many rather resent the fact that some governments are still looking back at Brussels instead of taking prompt action at the local and national levels”.
Robier himself demonstrates “good old nationalism” by criticizing his neighbors and his own politicians for excessive Eurooptimism. “In Italy, the authorities were slow just because they were counting on outside help. If they had acted themselves, it might have been possible to prevent the pandemic from spreading so rapidly. In France, President Macron has not stopped calling for pan-European solidarity. But instead, he only faces harsh criticism at home”, – says he.
The reasonableness of quarantine measures is understood by many, but still “sludge remains”. For example, the Venetian authorities, who suffer huge losses due to restrictions for tourists, are stunned by the behavior of allied countries. Stefano Valdegamberi, Member of the Venice Regional Parliament, explains the resentment of Italian society.
“The European Union has not helped us. We were simply ridiculed as carriers of the virus, even though it had already infiltrated other countries”, – he told. – “The neighbors immediately took advantage of the opportunity to block our goods at the border, though not without reason. But the most shameful thing was that they froze the supply of personal protective equipment – masks – at a time when our hospital staff were at risk of being infected. The only country that showed solidarity with Italy was China.”
“Our economy has been damaged. In any case, the Italians can recover. But we won’t forget it”, – repeats Valdegamberi.
Italian representative to the EU Maurizio Massari said on March 11 that Brussels should “go beyond promises and consultations” and develop “urgent actions – fast, concrete and effective.
Massari outlined his position in an article for Politico. There he explained what help Rome was waiting for: “Providing the necessary medical equipment, its distribution among countries and regions that need it. Today it means helping Italy, tomorrow such a need could arise anywhere.
“Italy requested that the EU civil protection mechanism be activated for the supply of medical equipment and personal protective equipment. But unfortunately, no EU country has responded to the (Euro)commission’s call. Only China responded on a bilateral basis. This does not mean anything good for European solidarity”.
Massari had his reasons for resentment. At first, Germany banned the export of medical masks and other protective equipment. Then Austria closed its borders with Italy for those who could not confirm that it could not tolerate the virus.
At the same time, China sent a second plane with medical equipment to Italy; the first board, in addition to medicines, delivered a team of doctors. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has also asked Beijing for help. The head of state, a candidate for EU membership, delivered a speech full of bitterness.
“There is no European solidarity. All this turned out to be a book tale”, – Vucic said.
He called President Xi Jinping a friend and brother and criticized the Eurobureaucracy.
“We cannot import goods, medical equipment and medicines from the EU by order of European authorities. That order was given by the same people who warned us not to trade with China”, – reminded the Serbian president.
The unification is precisely to disengage for a while, as Makron now explains. “This morning, as Europeans, we made a joint decision. As of tomorrow afternoon, the borders of the European Union and the Schengen area will be closed. All travel between non-European countries will be suspended for the next thirty days,” the French president said and added: “We are all at war for our health”.