A Covid-19 counterfactual for Europe

The arrival of the pandemic could have catalysed the emergence of a stronger, more integrated European Union.

Imagine that the coronavirus pandemic, rather than undermining confidence in the European Union, had strengthened it. Imagine that Covid-19 had persuaded EU leaders to overcome years of acrimony and fragmentation. Imagine that it had catalysed the emergence this year of a stronger, more integrated bloc to which the world looked for global leadership.