ABSTRACT
A paradoxical aspect of the reaction to the pandemic crisis was the early inward reaction of national authorities. Instead of recognising how the pandemic was a joint problem that required joint action and cooperation, national governments resorted to isolation, as if the spread of COVID-19 were stopped by closing borders. National reassurance was at odds with the nature of the challenges at stake. Cooperation and the rising actorness of the EU came after some weeks of disarray. The chapter focuses on contrasting rationales of problem-solving throughout the chronology of the pandemic crisis. Looking at member states’ early isolation, this chapter focuses on how the urgency of fighting against the disease and to save the economy clouded the judgement of political actors and threw them into the paradox of self-centred reactions to the crisis. Only at a later stage solidarity emerged when national authorities’ awareness of how the pandemic required joint action superseded the ‘each one on its own’ early approach. A discussion on how the EU’s performance as a crisis manager concludes the chapter, paying particular attention to the EU-wide vaccination strategy.
