EESC info

As of April we will be publishing a series of articles entitled Dessine-moi…* written by EESC members.

It is with great emotion that we share with our EESCinfo readers some testimonials from our members, who have agreed to share their thoughts - in the form of interviews, opinions and messages - about this period when, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, it feels like time is standing still.

We would like to thank the following members for providing testimonials: Isabel Caño Aguilar, Vice-president for communication; Milena Angelova, Vice-president for budget; Helena de Felipe Lehtonen from the Employers' Group; Adam Rogalewski from the Workers' Group; and Giuseppe Guerini from the Diversity Europe Group. (ehp)

 * "Draw me...", from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

By Isabel Caño Aguilar

We are experiencing exceptional and unusual circumstances.

On the one hand, we are isolated in our own countries, our own homes, and on the other hand, we know that the world cannot stop and that civil society keeps getting up every morning and starting work.

This unprecedented situation is placing a heavy emotional burden on all of us.

And it's hard to imagine what the consequences of each new day will be. Every aspect of our professional and private lives has been affected.

Firstly, I would like to mention the public services, especially those looking after our health – dedicated professionals who are shouldering their responsibilities, working overtime and putting in every effort to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed and health services from collapsing. Since 15 March, I have joined in the applause from balconies at 8 p.m. every day. In so doing, I am not only helping to show appreciation for this mammoth task, I am also supporting a clear demand: more resources for our public health systems!

In particular, I would like to thank and highlight the efforts of all the healthcare staff at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Granada's San Cecilio Clinical University Hospital, who shared with us the photo published in this edition of EESCInfo.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, the WHO is celebrating the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife in 2020. These men and women fulfil a crucial role and provide essential services, and continue to do so during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

They are not the only ones. We sometimes forget an equally vital sector, education, in which I'm proud to have worked. Millions of students across Europe are confined to their homes and would not be able to continue learning without the constant and tireless support of education workers.

Never before has the work of these sectors been so much in the public spotlight and, personally, I think that this recognition should turn into a commitment from the EU to abandon the austerity measures that left them underfunded and instead introduce specific measures and allocate larger budgets.

We won't be able to overcome this crisis without the civil society organisations that are working on the ground every day, but we need decisive action from the EU.

With the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration just days away, now more than ever we need strong impetus and commitment from the EU. The right measures and action need to be taken, including with regard to the budget, so that EU citizens can see that the EU is still an exciting project and not just an acronym.

In these testing times, which will have a lasting effect on our society, we must, above all, be able to convey the idea that another Europe – a stronger and better Europe – is possible.

By Milena Angelova

COVID-19 is the biggest challenge we have faced this century. I shall not focus on the negative effects it causes – on our lives, basic rights and freedoms, the economy and wellbeing. Rather I will try to propose a positive and pragmatic view of how to make the most of the current situation. We can deal with this together, if we stay focused, work as a team and be responsible.

Business More Effective Than Usual

Our homes are now not only our castles: they are everything for us – office, school, communication centres, entertainment and eating-out venues… This presents a unique opportunity for families to become more united and to benefit from being together and engaging in a team building exercise to ensure that each and every member of the family is comfortably equipped to perform effectively their daily obligations – work, classes, communication, sport. My family, for example, has managed to set up two school rooms (one for each of our two sons), two home offices and a multimedia centre – from where my husband and I attend remote meetings and give interviews to the media – as well as an improvised gym to keep fit even while being locked down. The kids have all their classes on-line – and even their karate workouts!

Keeping Spirits High and Capturing Beautiful Moments

Even though the lockdown encroaches on the basic freedoms of us all – being free to choose where to go, to travel, work and take active relaxation  – we still can stay positive and find beautiful moments to enjoy every day. Giving a structure to the day definitely helps us to stay focused and motivated. Personally, I have a very tight schedule, as I have to divide my time between taking care of the kids, finding time for exercise (no compromise – at least 90 mins. of gym a day), working for BICA – we are currently very actively negotiating with the Bulgarian government on anti-crisis measures in support of business and employment – and of course – last but not least – for the EESC. Being able to communicate with all my colleagues only remotely means it takes more time and effort to coordinate and prepare the substance of discussions, and even the simplest tasks are made complicated by the distance. But then it is more rewording and satisfying when success is achieved.

No one knows how long the current situation will continue, or when we will get our normal lives back. But whatever it takes, we will defeat this pandemic together and will be back to our normal, undisturbed lives, free of restrictions and fear. Until then we shall be joining our efforts and continuing to carry out our everyday work and our routines and still enjoy beautiful moments, since even the lockdown is a part of our lives and – if taken in a positive spirit – could offer moments of happiness.

Interview with Giuseppe Guerini

Mr Guerini, how are you coping at this very difficult time?

I am feeling tremendous pressure, both professionally and personally. I live in Bergamo, at the epicentre of the epidemic in Italy and we are being overwhelmed by the suffering here and the sheer number of dead, with worry and a feeling of powerlessness gnawing away at us all the time. We all have friends, colleagues or acquaintances who have either died or who are fighting for their lives in intensive care units.

As president of an association of cooperatives, how are you coping on the front line?

As president, I have to deal personally with the many crises that the cooperatives which I represent have been handling since 23 February when we realised that the virus was spreading and we had to make decisions, at a time when nothing was clear, regarding the line to be taken by the many services we manage. Our cooperatives in Bergamo employ over 9000 workers in social and healthcare services and manage care and home help services, residential and daycare centres for elderly and disabled people. In some cases we decided to close, but were then faced with threats from the local authorities insisting that the services remain operational. The tension was almost unbearable for hours. We then had days and weeks of constantly rising tension and anxiety: the terrible, desperate rush to secure protective gear for our workers, along with worry over having to ensure that certain care and home help services remained operational, despite limited resources and the fear that service providers and recipients might be infected. And unfortunately, that fear was only too justified, particularly in residential facilities for elderly people. 

So have the cooperatives continued to operate, or have some of them had to put a halt to their activities?

Well, alongside the difficulties I've just described, we have also had to cope with the fact that one business and activity after another has had to close: first it was schools and other educational establishments, then gradually other sectors. We now have over 180 cooperatives which have had to activate social shock absorbers for around 2500 people and which are now in danger of not being able to start up again. The crisis is having a devastating effect on the tourism and cultural sectors, as well as on agricultural processing and manufacturing cooperatives. As president of an association of cooperatives, I have to cope with a double-edged crisis: people who are overwhelmed because their workload in the sector of home help and essential services has exploded and who are at great risk of infection, and people who are afraid and anxious because they have lost their jobs.

What part of the response to the coronavirus crisis has worked?

What has worked, at least in our case, has been the incredible movement of solidarity and the response of the local communities, volunteer associations and social organisations which have achieved miracles when it comes to collecting donations and doing what has had to be done. Social and healthcare workers have worked selflessly. Doctors and nurses, but also many teachers and carers have kept on working at considerable risk to themselves. Society has also achieved truly impressive feats. In just ten days in Bergamo (and in other cities as well), field hospitals have been set up using fairground tents, with huge numbers of volunteers working night and day for no pay to get them ready. Doctors and nurses from various NGOs have taken on the task of managing many of them, while the costs were covered by donations. In Bergamo again, we set up three hotels with over 300 beds for patients sent out by the hospitals as soon as they are in stable condition so as to free up hospital beds. Our social cooperatives have taken on the duties of caring for patients in these hotels. It has involved a huge amount of work but is a vital service.

What hasn't worked?

The biggest problems are at institutional level: public authorities have been unable to make clear decisions in good time, or to adopt a common approach on planning or acting with regard to the crisis: the local, regional and national authorities have been issuing contradictory decisions. We've been seeing a bureaucracy overly concerned with shoring up its authority and passing the buck to operators. In fact, this has been a problem to varying extents not just in Italy and Bergamo, but in most western countries. 

What do you think is the reason for this behaviour on the part of the various tiers of administration?

I think that the situation in China was underestimated, as if people in the west felt that we were above such problems because we have an excellent healthcare system with very advanced technology and very modern hospitals. It's as if too many leaders, along with company directors and individuals were convinced that the western lifestyle and the supposition that we could rely on a high level of hospitals and healthcare facilities would protect us. In the first few days after the epidemic appeared in Lombardy, anyone expressing real concern was laughed at. This feeling of "superiority" is perhaps best expressed in a now infamous comment by an Italian regional president accusing the Chinese of neglecting personal hygiene and eating live mice; this comment reflected a view which was only too widespread in western public opinion. This attitude was still held by other political leaders in Europe and around the world in various ways until just a few days ago. Hospitals which can perform extraordinary and innovative healthcare procedures such as multiple organ transplants and highly advanced cancer therapy have proven to be very fragile, and are on the brink of collapse because of a viral epidemic which could have been contained much more effectively by keeping it as far from hospitals as possible. Here in Bergamo at least, hospitals have been, despite all their efforts, hotspots for spreading the epidemic. 

What is your opinion of the measures taken at European level?

I am with those who feel that at this time the European Union and its institutions have achieved a great deal, albeit with difficulty and inevitable contradictions: from complex decision-making mechanisms to a tendency for the Member States to look only to their own interests. It seems to me that in the course of a month, the European Commission and the European Parliament have taken important decisions and are implementing unprecedented economic measures. What is becoming clear is that however fundamental the economy may be and however important the role played by these economic measures both in dealing with the crisis and in striving to get things going again as soon as the crisis is under control, Europe still lacks the ability to intervene via tools, resources and powers in sectors other than regulating the market and the economy. 

So do we need a more united Europe?

It seems clear that we have even greater need of Europe. It's as if one day we woke up seriously ill and someone could only help us by giving us money and the freedom to run off to hospital, but was totally unable to take a direct role in caring for and protecting us. We all know that money is important for healthcare – but if someone gives you money and you're in the middle of a desert, money alone won't save you. I believe that the vast crisis caused by the epidemic is telling us that if we really want a European Union, we have to go much further with the single market and banking and monetary union to have a chance at a union of states which are able to deliver coordinated, unitary continental policies.

How can we all contribute and what sort of help is needed?

We can invest in building up the ideal of a united Europe by promoting the culture of solidarity and integration and trying to stand firm against self-interest and closed doors. It is becoming increasingly obvious that no one can save themselves acting alone and that the dramatic alternative to solidarity and reciprocal and mutual sharing in a community of humankind and Europe will be a degrading and despairing fall towards the hell of more wars. 

Have you seen any solidarity towards Italy?

We have experienced considerable solidarity from social networks such as social economy organisations, and friends and institutions from many countries have expressed great concern and support. I have also received precious messages of support from colleagues at the EESC. Regrettably, there have also been some disparaging remarks from European politicians who have lost no time criticising Italy and carrying forward egotistical and obtuse policies not least with regard to the potential role of the European Union. Unfortunately, this is no different from what many Italian politicians are doing, capable only of carping and using this crisis to make political capital and whip up support among a frightened and confused populace. So I would say that even in this situation we have Europe and people who want to help others and stand firm and build, and then we have jackals and opportunists trying to make a profit from crisis and war. (mp)

By Adam Rogalewski

The outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) will profoundly change our lives and will also change our countries, economies and societies. It has already made us realise how vulnerable we are despite the enormous improvements in our living conditions over the years, and technological progress, including digitalisation and artificial intelligence. We have also learnt, by staying isolated in our homes, just how important other people and society are to our daily lives. The coronavirus crisis very clearly invalidates the neo-liberal narrative that there is no such thing as society. At times of crisis like the one we are now witnessing, it is society, or in other words, people's solidarity, that can protect us from the effects of the virus.

The pandemic has changed our perspective on work. We have realised that some workers and professions that were previously perceived as being less important are in fact crucial for the functioning of our economies. These include not just health workers, who are putting their lives at risk and working round the clock to provide care, and care workers looking after the elderly, but also so-called less qualified grocery store workers, drivers, cleaners and agricultural workers, who provide us with essential goods and services. Many of these are migrants who have been perceived as a burden on societies and used as scapegoats in many countries and by many populist parties. Yet we have learnt that, without them, our societies would not be able to tackle the pandemic.

The coronavirus outbreak has eliminated differences between typical, atypical and self- employed workers. We have come to understand that all type of work is essential and all workers, even micro-entrepreneurs, contribute to our economies and equally need state support.

And it is this intervention from the state, which is able to protect workers and entrepreneurs, that plays a key role in tackling the pandemic. More than ever we need a strong and democratically controlled state that can deliver public services and protect the economy. The emphasis should be on a democratically controlled state and its government to avoid a situation like the one in Hungary, where recently adopted measures establishing a state of emergency cannot guarantee that the basic principles of democracy will be upheld. The crisis has also demonstrated the social partners' essential role in developing policies that tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Sadly, in my own country, MPs seemed to forget this when they recently adopted an act introducing regulations that are not related to the pandemic but that are aimed at restricting the role of social dialogue and the independence of the social partners.

The coronavirus crisis has made the EU more responsive to the public's needs. For example, the Commission recently proposed an instrument worth EUR 100 billion to support short-term work arrangements and mitigate unemployment risks (SURE). There is, however, a danger that the individual interests of Member States will prevail over EU solidarity. This is of particular importance for the countries with less advanced economies and social safety nets, which will require more economic support.

As shown above, the coronavirus outbreak has allowed us to reassess our societies, economies and the EU institutions, something which otherwise would not have been possible. We have recognised the importance of every worker, even those perceived to be less qualified, the importance of society as opposed to neo-liberal individualistic ideologies, the importance of investing in the public sector and, finally, the crucial role of democracy and social dialogue. I firmly believe that we will not forget the lessons learnt in this crisis and that we will build a better future after coronavirus, a future that makes Europe and the world a better place for everyone.

By Helena De Felipe Lehtonen

In light of the current pandemic, which is affecting us all, but especially those of us who are older or have poorer health, I wonder whether the virus was developed in a laboratory and subsequently released, whether intentionally or not. As ordinary citizens don't know the answer to that question, and even though a vaccine may be available by autumn 2021, how do we know that another virus won't appear next winter with similar consequences? (Let's not forget the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.)

In the face of all these unknowns, is the shutdown of the economy and the extensive use of reserve funds seen in almost all countries the best way to preserve jobs and keep the economy productive? Or should we perhaps put all our logistical and economic efforts into giving our health services the resources they need to analyse and treat infections in people requiring medical care?

I don't think the world's economies could remotely handle a similar situation in 2021, either through bailouts or borrowing, as productive economies will slump, resulting in job losses. Perhaps we will reach a stage where states will have to take control of civil society because no private economy will be able to cope.

People are no longer waiting for the European Union to fulfil its role by demonstrating clear leadership and showing its Member States which path to take in the face of this pandemic in terms of healthcare, the economy and social considerations. Every country has taken its own measures, based solely on the assumptions of the WHO, which of course does not consider the economy. This is another key way to assess the EU's leadership.

As a member of the European Economic and Social Committee representing European and Spanish SMEs, which have an average of two to three workers each in their productive fabric, I believe that the emotional, economic and personal damage will be irreversible. We should therefore take a short to medium-term view rather than copy health policies from totalitarian countries that are not at all suited to free-market economies.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission:

We will use all the tools at our disposal to contain the spread of the #coronavirus, help patients and make sure the European economy weathers the storm.
I'm convinced the EU can withstand the shock to our health care systems and our economies. But each Member State needs to live up to its full responsibility. And the European Union as a whole needs to be determined, coordinated and united.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council:

To meet the challenge of #COVID19 we need more Europe, mobilised alongside the Member States to contain the virus spread, guarantee medical equipment and agree on measures to reduce the negative economic and social impact for our citizens.

Full support to health workers working day and night to fight #COVID19 crisis. It will be difficult and take time but we are united in this fight.

David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament:

We are in a very delicate moment for our Union and our economy. It is not a time for superficial words. EU institutions are preparing a new package of measures to support countries and people in need. Now is not the moment for unilateral actions but for greater global cooperation.

Luca Jahier, President of the European Economic and Social Committee

Now, we are either a Union or we are nothing. All Member States must come together with a concerted and coherent action. Acting fast and together is the only effective answer to a crisis that affects us all. The European Union's integrity depends on it. #Whateverittakes

Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the Committee of the Regions

The EU must show its unity and help regions and cities fighting the #coronavirus on the frontline. An EU Health Emergency Mechanism must help local communities hire new doctors, buy medical devices and support intensive care services.

I pay tribute to all local/regional leaders on the frontline working with professionalism, dedication and courage in the battle against #COVID19. My thoughts are with those paying a personal price.

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank

The European Central Bank is committed to doing our part to support every citizen of the euro area through this extremely challenging time.

Extraordinary times require extraordinary action. There are no limits to our commitment to the euro. We are determined to use the full potential of our tools, within our mandate.

Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

The #Coronavirus crisis requires a global answer. Support to partners, in particular Africa, is not only about solidarity and helping the most vulnerable but also in our interest. We cannot solve the pandemic only at home, we need to solve it everywhere. If we don’t, it will bounce back.

The call for an immediate global ceasefire by UN Secretary General António Guterres is more important than ever. Only together and in peace can we overcome the global #coronavirus pandemic. This is the real fight we need to face today. Unity and solidarity are our weapons. (mr)