The anti-crisis policy of the European Union in the face of a pandemic SARS CoV-2 in the area of public health in 2020. In search of functional solutions

Abstract

The pandemic crisis has created completely new challenges for the European Union. The question has arisen as to what should be the appropriate response to a threat to the life and health of Europeans. At which level should strategic action be taken: European or national. However, with the development of the pandemic, its cross-border and unprecedented nature, many citizens started to expect action from the EU institutions. This paper presents the public health response of the European Union to the pandemic crisis in the first year of the pandemic. It presents the main directions of proposed actions, based on the analysis of EU documents. It shows how functional solutions were sought during the implementation of anti-crisis actions. Additionally, it presents how the pandemic has influenced the development of EU health policy (e.g. EU4Health or pharmaceutical strategy).