March 10, 2020. The spread of the novel coronavirus exposed not only the WHO’s failure but also the dysfunction of the EU. In mask procurement, border control, and economic support, member states put themselves first, leaving EU solidarity as an empty slogan.

March 10, 2020
It is not only the World Health Organization, the WHO, which has been criticized as “pro-China.”
The European Union, the EU, is not functioning at all.
The following is also from today’s Sankei Shimbun, and Mina Mitsui is one of the best female correspondents currently active.
Failure to stop the spread: the EU does not function
Whatever course the novel coronavirus infection takes, there is no doubt that the “loser” in the international community is the international organization.
It is not only the World Health Organization, the WHO, which has been criticized as “pro-China.”
The European Union, the EU, is not functioning at all.
In public health, the governments of member states respond first, but under the EU law of 2013, the EU was also given significant authority.
The lesson came from the 2009 outbreak of the new influenza, when about 2,000 people died within the region.
The European Commission is capable of cross-border crisis assessment and response.
It can also procure medical supplies collectively and give priority distribution to countries where the infection is severe.
This time, the infection first spread in Italy and then spread throughout the EU.
The number of infected people exceeds 10,000.
It is precisely an opportunity to test “Europe’s true ability.”
On the 6th, the EU held an emergency meeting of health ministers.
As medical masks ran out in Italy, collective procurement by the EU was placed on the agenda.
But Germany and France did not respond.
Janez Lenarcic, the European Commissioner for crisis management from Slovenia, lamented, “With this, we cannot respond to the crisis together.”
Germany has banned exports of masks from its own country, and the French government has, by decree, seized domestic inventories.
Germany and France call for “EU unity” in common diplomacy and economic measures, but when the moment comes, their national-first stance becomes glaring.
The council ended after issuing the empty statement that “solidarity is the best way to protect the health of EU citizens.”
The first focus in infection-control measures was how to handle the Schengen Agreement, which abolished border checks.
The EU decided that “freedom of movement will not be changed,” and each country rushed to take its own self-defense measures.
Austria began health checks at its border with Italy.
The French national railway took the measure of having French staff get off international trains bound for Italy at the border.
The greatest concern is that, regarding the economic blow caused by the spread of infection, almost no message is coming from the EU.
On the 5th, the Italian government announced that it would compile an emergency-response budget of 7.5 billion euros, about 900 billion yen.
As factories stopped in various regions and the economy cooled, it appealed that it would “protect the employment of the people.”
The scale is comparable to the 8.3 billion dollars, about 900 billion yen, in emergency spending decided by the United States.
Italy is the EU’s most heavily indebted country after Greece, and the burden it must shoulder alone is far too great, but no helping hand reaches it.
All the EU says is that Italy may be allowed to run a deficit budget without being bound by eurozone discipline.
Matteo Salvini, former interior minister and leader of Italy’s right-wing opposition party, the League, criticized the EU, saying, “If it only worries about fiscal balance and puts ordinary people’s lives and employment second, the EU is already as good as dead.”
With the novel coronavirus infection, right-wing populism that attacks the EU is gaining momentum once again.
Across Europe, anxiety over the spread of infection grows day by day, and toilet paper and canned goods disappear from supermarket shelves.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tried to show the EU’s efforts by presenting a response team to the media, but it backfired.
The sight of staff wearing blue vests in the EU color sitting in front of computers in the building and gathering information was mocked online as “just like officials of the old Soviet Union” and “are they surfing the internet at a time like this?”
The great distance between the Brussels bureaucracy and ordinary people.
It has once again become clear.
Paris Bureau Chief.