La lotta alla pandemia di Covid-19. Un bilancio dell’azione dell’Unione

Both the souls of the European Union, the Community one and the in- tergovernmental one, have been called into action against Covid-19 pandemic. And both have made the best use of all the instruments at their disposal to react (not without some difficulties) to an unforeseeable emergency and to find suitable solutions to deal with the serious health crisis and its consequences in all areas of social and economic life in the Member States. The action model that gradually came to life during the Covid-19 health emergency is certainly a good starting point, especially because it has proven to be effective and appropriate. However, consideration must be given to the overall response arrangements that have characterised, in particular, the Commission’s interventions, to the extent that it is conceivable that, in future, an ad hoc emergency procedure, which is currently absent in the Treaties, should be established. This procedure would regulate precisely the use of emergency powers and lay down the procedures for their exercise, in order to avoid arbitrariness. Detailed rules would make it possible, among other things, to avoid hesitation and to offer the possibility of rapid action within a framework that finds its legitimacy in primary law.