EUROPEAN RESPONSE TO COVID 19 PANDEMIC – LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE
EUROPEAN RESPONSE TO COVID 19 PANDEMIC – LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE

Summary/Abstract: The study analyzes legal and strategic constraints of the European Union (EU) responseduring Covid-19 pandemic. First lesson to be learnt is the legal limitation of the EU’s competencein the field of public health protection that causes relative inefficient reaction of the EUinstitutions during pandemic. Second lesson lies in inadequate application of the solidarity clauseat the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, exactly at the time of marking the 70th anniversaryof Schuman's declaration. On the one hand, there is a lack of powers at the EU level, given itscoordinating competence. On the other hand, there was a noticeable lack of solidarity among theEU Member States, solidarity which is legally established in the provisions of the Lisbon EUTreaty.There is a battle between the role of the state with its sovereignty and the concept ofeuropeanization of pandemic supression, which proved to be prevalently unsuccessful. SomeMember States, especially Romania and Hungary as well, performed an efficient approach toimmunisation of their population, separate from the EU institutions. Successful example ofSerbia, European candidate country, in mass vaccination of its inhabitants points to the fact thatthe state is primarily responsible in the field of public health. However, the advantage of the EUin the fight against pandemic is in the weakness of national approach to pandemic prevention,bearing in mind its global character. Hence the need to reform the EU legal framework andstrengthen the political will of the EU members for deeper cohesion and coordination of publichealth protection measures. This would strengthen the EU's role in international co-operation inpreventing and controlling possible future pandemic threats and in contributing to the Europeanand global health security.

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