The COVID-19 crisis is a human tragedy. It is also an unprecedented social experiment - potentially the largest social experiment we’ll ever witness in our lifetime. And we’re watching it unfold in real time.

In March 2020, the free movement of the EU was temporarily suspended and citizens took shelter beyond the closed borders of their nation state. Democracy was put on hold with emergency legislation rapidly introduced in most European countries. The future of capitalism was quietly in question.

The pandemic locked people away in their homes but it unlocked our political imaginations. Nothing was impossible anymore. The pandemic was both a nationalist moment and European moment at the same time.

As planes grounded and the large polluting corporations halted their production lines, climate activists started to wonder if their dreams of a low-carbon world were achievable. When borders between the EU member states were closed, right-wing populists began to feel that they might never be reopened.

While the voice of the EU was notably quiet in the early stages of the crisis, the pandemic has become more critical for the future of the Union than anything else in its history to date. COVID-19 has brought forward Europe’s “Hamiltonian moment” and has accelerated the process of European integration. However, at the same time, it has forced Europeans to re-think some of the fundamental assumptions on which the European project is built.

How is COVID-19 changing Europe and how is it changing Europe’s role in the world? These are the questions this lecture will address and reflect on.

This lecture is the first in Envisioning Europe series linked to the Conference on the Future of Europe, run by the House of European History, where we invite prominent experts to share insights on the topical issues of Europe.


CHAPTERS
0:00 Welcome by Constanze Itzel
6:21 Presentation by Ivan Krastev - Europe during covid, demographics, political risks

33:31 Audience Q&A - Hungarian LGBT laws, EU competitiveness & climate legislation, voting for young Europeans

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