Crisis Management in the European Union - An analysis of the Ukraine Conflict and COVID-10 Pandemic responses
Author
Rokkedal, Alexander Friis
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-05-31
Pages
52
Abstract
This thesis examines why the European Commission’s capacity to respond swiftly differed between two recent EU crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Using a comparative case study, it applies three European integration perspectives—neofunctionalism, liberal intergovernmentalism, and postfunctionalism—to analyze how the Commission, member states, and public opinion shaped crisis management. The study provides an empirical overview of events and EU measures in both crises, including sanctions packages against Russia and coordination efforts and recovery funds during COVID-19. The analysis emphasizes immediate Commission actions, member state reactions, and public attitudes, and compares patterns across the two cases. Findings indicate that variations in early Commission capacity stemmed from differences in the nature of the crises, the level of institutional and intergovernmental preparedness, and coordination with member states. The initial COVID-19 response featured uncoordinated national measures and a temporary roll-back of core EU arrangements, whereas the response to the Ukraine invasion was rapid, with successive sanctions. Broad public support for EU-wide solutions increased member states’ willingness to cooperate with the Commission, enhancing its ability to act.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvorfor Europa-Kommissionens kapacitet til at reagere hurtigt varierede mellem to af EU’s seneste kriser: COVID-19-pandemien og den russiske invasion af Ukraine. Med udgangspunkt i et komparativt casestudie kombineres tre integrationsperspektiver—neofunktionalisme, liberal intergovernmentalisme og postfunktionalisme—for at analysere, hvordan Kommissionen, medlemsstaterne og den offentlige opinion formede krisehåndteringen. Afhandlingen giver et empirisk overblik over forløb og EU-tiltag i begge kriser, herunder sanktionspakker mod Rusland samt koordinationsindsats og genopretningsmidler under COVID-19. Analysen fokuserer på de umiddelbare foranstaltninger, medlemsstaternes reaktioner og offentlighedens holdninger, og sammenligner forløbene på tværs af kriserne. Resultaterne peger på, at variationen i Kommissionens handlekraft i de første måneder skyldtes forskelle i krisernes karakter, graden af institutionel og mellemstatslig forberedelse samt samarbejdet med medlemsstaterne. Den indledende COVID-19-reaktion var præget af ukoordinerede nationale tiltag og midlertidig tilbagerulning af centrale EU-ordninger, mens EU’s svar på Ukraine-invasionen kom hurtigt med successive sanktionspakker. Offentlig opbakning til EU-løsninger styrkede i begge tilfælde medlemsstaternes villighed til at samarbejde med Kommissionen og dermed dens mulighed for at handle.
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