COVID-19 Pandemic and Measures Implemented at the Level of European States

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread in a very short time globally, bringing significant consequences to the health of millions of people. At the same time, the pandemic had a strong impact on the global economy by increasing government spending and declining tax revenues that led to worsening macroeconomic indicators and subsequently, the emergence of a new period of recession. In order to support the economy, public authorities have developed and implemented a series of measures and policies that will gradually lead to the improvement of the global economic context and the recovery of the economy in the shortest possible time. Moreover, at the level of the European Union, the authorities were more involved than ever by implementing a new intervention instrument entitled "Next generation EU" through which funds were allocated to European states, and at the same time, it was decided to activate the derogation clause. The Stability and Growth Pact, according to which European states can deviate from the criteria specified in the founding treaties of the European Union, refer to the level of the budget deficit, respectively of government debt as a percentage of gross domestic product. The motivation for choosing this topic is on the one hand the negative impact that this phenomenon has generalized at all socio-political and economic levels, as well as the topicality of the topic debated in contemporary scientific research.

Keywords

• income
• economy
• austerity
• next generation eu
• covid-19 pandemic.