Addressing Economic State of Emergency in the EU: the Analysis of the Economic Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic
Abstract as pdf
Corresponding Author:
Anna Zemskova
Lund University Sweden
anna.zemskova@jur.lu.se
Author(s):
The ongoing global health emergency, caused by the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been testing the viability of the European project in many respects, vividly demonstrating the transformative nature of emergencies,[1] their unpredictable development[2] and massive amount of negative spill-over effects in different areas of regulation. Whereas Covid-19 pandemic is first and foremost an emergency in the field of public health, an area where the EU has a limited capacity to act due to its complimentary competence in this sphere,[3] this extraordinary crisis triggered a new economic emergency in the EU, whose long-term implications will be present for years to come.
Having to act swiftly, the EU came up with some legal solutions, aiming at providing the grounds for the stabilisation of the shattered economy of the Union. This resulted in invoking special mechanisms, either already existing or recently adopted ones, whose application has been specifically tailored for this particular emergency. It remains to be investigated, however, what impact the enacted instruments will have on the constitutional architecture of the EU and whether the urgently adopted measures live up to the expectations regarding upholding the foundational values of the Union, especially, the rule of law.[4]
This article aims to elucidate the economic responses of the EU to the Covid-19 pandemic by outlining the competence of the Union in the context of economic emergencies and providing a thorough analysis of both novel and “old” economic tools relied upon in the battle against the Covid-19 emergency together with their interaction with the requirements of the rule of law. Special attention is to be given to tracing the legacy of the Euro-Area Crisis toolkit in Covid-19 economic instruments and understanding its influence on the current constitutional framework of the EU.
[1] Alan Greene, ‘Questioning Executive Supremacy in an Economic State of Emergency’ (2015) 35 Legal Studies 594, 609.
[2] Anna Zemskova, ‘ESM in the context of the Coronavirus Crisis – a Much Needed Lifejacket or Another Lead Blanket?’ (European Law Blog, 7 April 2020).
[3] Anna Zemskova, ‘“Guest Note on the Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on EU Law”’ (2020) 3 Nordic Journal of European Law III, IVÍž Vincent Delhomme, ‘Emancipating Health from the Internal Market: For a Stronger EU (Legislative) Competence in Public Health’ (2020) 11 European Journal of Risk Regulation 747, 747–750.
[4] Article 2 TEU.
Law in Crisis? Analysing the Challenge of Making Laws Work in and after Disasters and Crises