Europe to the rescue? EU funds and the COVID-19 crisis – who gets what, how and why

In recent weeks, the divisions between North and South, as well as the creation of European corona bonds have dominated most European debates. At the same time, there has been contradictory information regarding the financial aid mobilised by Brussels in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives of this brief analysis are twofold. First, it seeks to clarify and provide an overview of what European Union (EU) financial resources have been mobilised so far to fight the pandemic, what is their distribution and towards whom. Secondly, it discusses the problematic aspects surrounding the financial support offered by Brussels and the Member States. Overall, I argue that although the current European rescue package is significant in size, when designing and presenting it, EU institutions and Member States faced several communication, financial and politico-administrative obstacles, often of their own making. This might explain, at least partially, why so many members of the European public are still sceptical or have a negative attitude towards the EU’s response to the coronavirus crisis.