Tutela della salute pubblica ed assistenza economica e finanziaria agli Stati membri dell’Unione europea in tempo di emergenza sanitaria

Abstract

This article conducts an analysis of the instruments providing financial support for Member States in conjunction with the rules on the protection of human health, in order to assess if the latter have oriented the reaction of the European Union and its Member States to the Covid-19. The crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, in fact, is of dual nature: it is a threat to human health and, at the same time, it requires huge financial resources for the recovery. Firstly, the author analyzes the main elements of the crisis. Secondly, the author focuses on the horizontal clauses that should orient the response of the EU to the pandemic, including Art. 35 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Finally, the author examines some instruments giving financial assistance to Member States that could be activated to face the pandemic, in particular the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the draft Recovery Fund announced by the European Commission.