What can we expect from the EU legal framework in a pandemic outbreak?

Abstract

The arrival of a new form of coronavirus at the end of 2019 and its subsequent expansion to multiple countries has already caused severe consequences whose final extent we are unfortunately still far from seeing. In our geographical context, Italy has been particularly affected by this threat. In such circumstances, it is worth asking what the EU could do to help any of its Member States (MS) to cope with such a situation. This paper will try to answer it. To this end, we will focus on the most important legal instrument: the so-called, “Solidarity Clause” and the most relevant political tool, the Integrated Political Crisis Response arrangements (IPCRs).