Tackling the immediate economic and social aftermath of the pandemic, and preparing a sustainable common future of shared prosperity, wellbeing and resilience.

The COVID-19 outbreak has wreaked havoc in Europe and in the world, inflicting irreparable pain to many thousands of people. The rapidly unfolding magnitude of the crisis caught the EU and its Member States by surprise. Had all the lessons from the previous financial crisis been learned, the EU would have been prepared and equipped to respond to this new crisis in a rapid, collective and effective way. However, devoid of solid European instruments for joint action, the crisis exposed the fragility of our common economic and social governance capabilities and instruments in the face of such a challenge, at a time when strong public action, in line with our shared democratic values, is the only answer.