We, the European Union. Together but... far Apart

Abstract

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be an issue, the retaliations on nation-states’ political, socio-cultural and, more than ever, economic structures are deemed to be- or are they yet- dire. The paper aims to broadly discuss the reaction of European leaders to the emergence of COVID-19 and the undercurrents in terms of power and discourse on the European Union -EU-. The first part introduces chronologically the diffusion of the virus from China to Europe and, specifically, Italy. Later, it focuses on the first reactions of EU politicians to the growing epidemic until the international recognition of the emergency as global pandemic. It, then, moves to the second most damaged country inside the EU sphere, Spain. It lastly compares the state’s reactions by methodologically employ comparison of units and discourse analysis as pillars for this research. The final aim is to explore patterns in the EU leaders' communication of emergency due to COVID-19 within the framework of the Union and bearing in mind the differences between the EU as a Union and the EU as a compound of sovereign nation-states.