majority of Portuguese approve of European management of the pandemic

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Europeans are divided over the action of the European Union (EU) in managing the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to an exclusive IPSOS survey carried out for Euronews, only 40% of citizens have a positive opinion, with 32% giving neither a positive nor a negative assessment.

However, among the many issues that concern Europeans, the management of the health crisis is the one that enjoys the greatest support in public opinion.

Portuguese approve European action against the pandemic

These results hide large differences between Member States.

In Portugal, 74% of residents are satisfied with the role the EU has taken in combating the pandemic caused by Covid-19, followed by Finland with 55%.

At the other end of the table, only 28% of Romanians give a positive rating to the EU’s action in relation to Covid-19. The Czech Republic is the most dissatisfied country (24%).

For some health organizations, the fight against the pandemic served to take new steps in European health policy.

“The European Health Union began to be developed or created based on the reaction to the challenge posed by the pandemic”, says Milka Sokolović, director general of EPHA (European Public Health Alliance). “ECDC, the European Center for Disease Control, and the European Medicines Agency now have a stronger position.”, she adds.

To respond to the health challenge, the EU innovated politically through an unprecedented health mechanism: the joint procurement of vaccines.

In June 2020, it launched its common strategy and, at the end of the following year, the EU had signed contracts worth 71 billion euros to purchase 4.6 billion doses.

“At the high-level event of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU, it was very clear in the ministerial panel that, if it were not for joint EU action, there would be no way to achieve the vaccine equity that has been achieved during the pandemic.” , highlights Sokolović.

“Health is fundamental, but the EU’s role in health is also fundamental.”

In response to the health crisis, Member States adopted a multi-annual health program, EU4Health, worth more than €5 billion for the period 2021-2027.