TEPSA, in cooperation with Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), organised an online debate on Southern Europe and the COVID-19 Crisis: Not Left Behind this Time?

During the worst times of the COVID-19 crisis, it seemed that the North-South divide was back. Southern European Member States were demanding an approach to the ensuing economic crisis that resembled something like debt mutualisation. Northern European countries, legitimately, still prefer different solutions, mostly in terms of credit. The compromise put in place by the European Commission with the endorsement of the French-German axis seems the beginning of a potential solution, but still depends on the unanimity of the European Council. 

Have Southern European Member States made their voices heard in view of this severe economic crisis? Has the EU and all its Member States learnt lessons from the financial crisis of 2008? What implications would a lack of solidarity have for European (dis)integration? And how can Europeans find a meaning for solidarity that is appealing to all its Member States? 

The debate featured presentations by the following experts: Filippa Chatzistavrou (ELIAMEP), Carlos Gaspar (IPRI), Christian Lequesne (Sciences Po Paris), Eleonora Poli (IAI) and Ilke Toygür (Elcano Royal Institute) and will be moderated by Héctor Sánchez Margalef (CIDOB).

The event took place via Zoom and was streamed in our TEPSA YouTube Channel on Tuesday 9 June from 18:00 to 19:30.