ALL ROADS (DON’T) LEAD TO ROME

The proverb all roads lead to Rome may be derived from a phrase coined by French poet Alain de Lille in the Middle Ages in 1175: “mille vie ducunt hominem per secula Romam,” which means “a thousand roads lead a man forever toward Rome.” On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the COVID – 19 as a pandemic, Italy was amongst the first countries to stop flights to China, and yet Italy has been hit by the worst outbreak in Europe.

Indeed, Rome’s hopes for assistance were now pinned on the Commission’s triggering of an emergency joint procurement process that allows the EU to purchase urgent medical supplies and to distribute those resources where most-needed across the Continent, even if capitals were reluctant to help each other. 

As the COVID – 19 was raging through Europe, it seemed as EU governments were failing on all fronts, some EU countries were introducing new measures without even consulting their neighbor countries. The European Union was giving out an image of egoism and selfishness, while being too cought up by it’s own problems, leaving each country to their own. In the past weeks many countries were criticized for letting the crisis get the worst of themselves and some even faced backlash from their own citizens for not taking the outbreak of the virus more serious.

Iranians criticized government authorities for proceeding with elections while the virus was spreading and closing secular spaces while keeping shrines open, especially in the Shia holy city of Qom. Scrutiny has also been targeted at the government’s unwillingness to implement area-wide quarantine measures like those implemented by China and Italy, with Iranian officials calling quarantines “old-fashioned”. 

As the rest of the world was struggling to slow the spread of the virus, China looked at this gap as an opportunity to spread it’s propaganda as the “saviour” trying to cover up the fact that they allowed the virus to become a pandemic in the first place. It is not a secret that China long ago identified Serbia as an important partner in southeastern Europe and has cultivated Vučić for years by making substantial investments in the country. So, President Aleksandar Vučić, a politician not known for hiding his emotions at the best of times, unleashed a torrent of criticism on Brussels; “By now you all understood that great international solidarity actually does not exist,” he told a news conference. “European solidarity does not exist. That was a fairy tale.[1]” Vučić’s appearance which went viral on social media, offered a huge win for China’s propaganda machine.

Why didn’t anyone in Brussels or Berlin come up with the idea to call Rome and offer help? The media, in all its details, reported on the plight in Italian hospitals, emergency measures and empty streets. So no one can say they didn’t know what was going on there[2].

Eventhough the response from the EU came late, still let’s take a look at what measures are taken by the European Comission? President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a comprehensive set of measures that will[3]:

• Ensure the adequate supply of protective equipment and medical supplies across Europe;

• Cushion the blow for people’s livelihoods and the economy by applying full flexibility of EU fiscal rules;

• Set up a EUR 37 billion Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative to provide liquidity to small businesses and the health care sector.

• Provide a coherent set of guidelines to Member States on border measures to protect citizens’ health while allowing the free flow of essential goods

• Restrict temporarily non-essential travel to the European Union

In addition to measures of containing and treating the disease, the European Commission set up a “corona response team” and tabled a number of legal proposals on 13 March, which aim at mitigating the economic impact of the crisis. Proposals address the protection of workers and companies against income losses through, e.g. simplified state aid rules and financial assistance from the EU budget and the European Investment Fund. Among others, the European Commission proposed a new “COVID-19 Response Investment Initiative” in the order of EUR 37 billion, which would be composed of unused and not yet allocated structural funds. 

The transition to regressive national thinking ends at the latest in economic consequences: Europe has long been so intertwined that the threatening recession can only be overcome by joint forces. In general, for example, it is not an option to allow Italy to fall, it should be clear to even the most foreboded nationalists. Together, Europe is the strongest economic bloc in the world and can shape policy in the coming months.

Trouble is, China’s false narrative and propaganda machine threatens to spread as quickly as the coronavirus!

Meral Musli Tajroska – Psychologist, Consultant on violent extremism and radicalization, activist for gender equality.

Cartoon Credit: Marian Kamensky

[1] https://www.politico.eu/article/coronavirus-china-winning-propaganda-war/?fbclid=IwAR008PvBvhYYiGUVRNMaS1phJnpbQh1gTi5NDG9FpfPngCt-O-ZdrHRd3N0

[2] https://www.dw.com/mk/%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%87%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0-%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%B5%D1%83-%D0%B2%D0%BE-%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0-%D1%81%D0%BE-%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%82/a-52803473?fbclid=IwAR1jFhv36FgA7PEtnAkvpLq3j4HHguMus0eIGMbxUpuY1_B_A_yG7z0GHIE

[3] https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/health/coronavirus-response/european-commissions-action-coronavirus_en