Unfortunately, a microscopic virus might achieve what Brexit, the migration crisis or the 2008 financial crisis failed to do: fatally injure the European Union. Countering the steps forward of the European Institutions, we see the irresponsibility of a few, but powerful, national governments – more concerned with short-term domestic electoral calculations than with the health and future of the common project – exacerbating the current crisis still further. However, in Southern Europe, and therefore in all of Europe, there is only one vaccine against economic collapse, as a result the health crisis. It is called solidarity.

At this historical moment, Europe has no right to fail. Its credibility and its future are at stake. Let us be clear: it is not a question here of a struggle between Southern and Northern Europe, or Eastern versus Western Europe. Rather, at the continental level, we have to decide whether we want a Europe that cares and protects or a Europe of “every man for himself”. We, from the South and the North, are clear: a Europe of national selfishness, in addition to being unjust, is totally inefficient in facing a catastrophe that has no borders.

Only a Europe of cooperation can fight this pandemic today and build a more equitable and sustainable future as soon as we overcome this crisis. In a continent as interdependent as ours, not cooperating would be both a failure and a total lack of responsibility for governments across Europe. Conversely, sharing decisions and sovereignty in a coordinated way is much more powerful than national withdrawal. Faced with global challenges, a Europe of solidarity and cooperation is the answer.

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