Why Solidarity Is an Essential Component of European Culture Barbara Polin From the seeds of economic cooperation... n 1957, the early days of the European Economic Community (EEC), the very concept of European solidarity seemed to be a mirage. Memories of the Second World War were still vivid, part of the continent was behind the Iron Curtain and the United States seemed to be the only reliable partner. Yet, the successful institution of the EEC proved that not only European countries could resist declaring war on each other, but also that they were able to cooperate on the same matters that once divided them.
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...To the flourishing of a principled political association As the European Union (EU) was instituted in 1993, it provided a fertile ground where the seeds of economic cooperation could bloom into political association. With its background as a peace project, the newly formed EU chose to be consistent with a
principled approach both in internal and foreign policy. For example, the Member States agreed that third countries should comply with the EU’s standards and values in terms of democratic and legal institutions, economic model and overall political capacities. In this way, the new and old Member States shared a common political framework, as a result this mitigated existing differences and it enabled a deepening in terms of cooperation. ...Then, the pandemic dearth Upon the outset of the pandemic, European cooperation seemed to have abruptly returned to zero. In March of 2020, while military trucks transported coffins out of the Italian city of Bergamo, the Capitals scrambled to block exports of medical equipment, disrupted the Schengen mobility and created an impenetrable cordon sanitaire around Italy. Suddenly, the existence of a Union seemed to no longer belong to the Euro-
pean culture: as unity and culture appeared to be dissolving within the illusions of a temporary epidemic. A new season of cooperation A few months after the trucks left Bergamo, European cooperation rose from the ashes. In July, the European Council agreed to a sizable EU recovery plan, the NextGeneration EU, which is valued around 750 billion euros. This decision was crucial for continued EU solidarity: it is true that the pandemic hit globally, but some EU states were more vulnerable to its social and economic impacts, such as the larger Mediterranean countries. Without the NextGeneration, the EU would encounter fragility and risked credibility, especially when tackling new challenges. So, with the approval of the fund, European, the EU prioritizes and encourages solidarity through collective effort.
