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The EU’s Latest Existential Crisis Might Be Its Biggest One Yet

The coronavirus is testing unity and officials are worried that leaders are relying too much on outdated solutions.

A medical worker stands at a triage center outside the emergency room in Molinette hospital in Turin.

A medical worker stands at a triage center outside the emergency room in Molinette hospital in Turin.

Photographer: Federico Bernini/Bloomberg
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When the European Union’s 27 leaders last managed to gather in person, they didn’t even talk about coronavirus.

It was Feb. 21, the day Italy recorded its first fatality from the disease. They haggled unsuccessfully for 28 hours over the EU’s notoriously complicated budget. In a matter of weeks, everything changed. The pandemic tore into any last notion of unity and confronted the bloc with its next existential crisis.