Anti-virus policies may hurt democracy in eastern EU

Subject

Eastern EU’s handling of COVID-19 pandemic.

Significance

Central-East European (CEE) authorities are more reactive than proactive on COVID-19 management and have devised an ad hoc patchwork of measures; all are relying on 'stay-at-home' strategies to curb excessive demand on health systems. Politically, COVID-19 is not creating new attitudes but amplifying existing ones. It offers national-populists a fertile environment for centralising decision-making further and adopting measures incompatible with normal democratic standards.

Impacts

• The next EU budget may take into account the latest revelation of less affluent members’ structural weaknesses.
• However, EU solidarity will be further stretched, creating new tensions between east and west.
• Although working online is less advanced in most CEE countries, appreciation of and investment in big data and technology will increase.
• Lockdowns will hold back education, with teachers, even at university level, underprepared to deliver courses remotely.