In diesem einführenden Gespräch analysieren Prof. Dr. Patrizia Nanz und Dr. Sébastian Treyer die Auswirkungen der Coronakrise auf die gesellschaftlichen, wirtschaftlichen und politischen Transformationsprozesse für mehr Klimaschutz und zeigen Bedingungen für eine erfolgreiche Steuerung dieser Entwicklungen auf.

Die Soziologen Yann Le Lann und Sabrina Zajak analysieren und vergleichen in diesem Gespräch die Auswirkungen der Corona-Pandemie auf die Klimabewegungen in Frankreich und Deutschland. Den Green Deal der Europäischen Kommission bewerten die Klimabewegungen überwiegend kritisch.

Wolfgang Lemb, geschäftsführendes Vorstandsmitglied der IG-Metall, und Philippe Portier, Nationaler Sekretär im Exekutivkomitee der französischen Gewerkschaft CFDT, erörtern in diesem dritten Beitrag der Reihe aktuelle Chancen und Herausforderungen für die „Just Transition“ in Deutschland und Frankreich: Um Strukturbrüche zu vermeiden, müssten die Mittel des Just Transition Fonds deutlich erhöht werden.

Prof. Dr. Barbara Praetorius, Professorin für Nachhaltigkeit, Umwelt- und Energieökonomie und -politik an der Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Technik (HTW) Berlin, analysiert in ihrem Beitrag, wie die europäische Industrie mit einer gezielten, europaweit harmonisierten Klima-Industriepolitik zukunftsfähig werden kann.

Christian Gollier, geschäftsführender Direktor der Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), plädiert in diesem Beitrag für einen europaweit einheitlichen, hohen und nach und nach ansteigenden CO2-Preis, um die ökologische Transformation der Wirtschaft in der nötigen Geschwindigkeit voranzubringen.

Im sechsten Beitrag der Publikationsreihe „Green Deal reloaded“ analysiert Dr. Camilla Bausch, wissenschaftliche und geschäftsführende Direktorin des Ecologic Instituts, die Chancen und Herausforderungen von Grenzausgleichsmaßnahmen, die Wettbewerbsnachteile für europäische Unternehmen aufgrund von Klimaschutzauflagen vermeiden sollen.

Beyond its immediate effects as a global health crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic poses manifold political and economic challenges for the EU and its member states. Previous crises have shown that the EU's crisis management is dominated by intergovernmentalism and often limited to damage control. Nevertheless, common institutions and procedures such as those of the eurozone offer clear added value for the limited capacities of each member state and will make a difference in the long run.

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit Poland in a difficult period. The issue of postponing the presidential election, originally scheduled for 10 May, has led to significant tensions in an already deeply polarised political scene. While decision-makers were quick to introduce restrictive measures, they have questioned the efficacy of the solutions to the Covid-19 crisis proposed by the EU. However, in spite of the political rhetoric of self-sufficiency, Poland needs greater EU solidarity, especially when it comes to economic challenges.

France is one of the countries that has been worst affected by Covid-19 in the European Union, pushing its healthcare system and its economic resilience to the brink. The current crisis rapidly put the government under severe pressure and once again tested French citizens' confidence in the executive. The French approach to this multidimensional crisis, which has had a strong European focus so far, could also be an opportunity for the government to inject fresh impetus into the country's European policy and to help strengthen the European Union as an actor in the current crisis.

Germany is emerging from the first phase of the pandemic with some scars, but broadly in good shape. Like most European countries, it was late in addressing the threat posed by the virus and in “thinking European” in its response. Its six-month EU presidency starting in July is bound up with unique challenges as re-opening internal borders and restarting the European economy may well determine whether the Union can hold together. In order to drive the EU’s economic and social recovery forwards, Berlin needs to present a compelling vision for a green and digital post-pandemic Europe worth striving for.

The coronavirus crisis has affected the countries of the Weimar Triangle to varying degrees. Bilateral relations between Germany and Poland as well as Germany and France have been strongly influenced by border closures, which have led to tensions between the countries. Although Franco-German relations seem to be gaining momentum after years of relative gridlock, the lack of Franco-Polish cooperation as well as common initiatives led to the complete invisibility of the Weimar Triangle. At this point, new ways of thinking are urgently needed if the Triangle is to fulfil its raison d’être.

The coronavirus crisis is accelerating a paradigm shift in European integration. Freedom as the organising principle of the EU was in retreat even before the pandemic when liberalisation, openness and liberal democracy came under strain in many countries. Restrictions imposed to tackle Covid-19 are reinforcing this trend. Concerns that some of these restrictions may remain in place beyond the pandemic are legitimate, particularly in the case of countries that are abusing the crisis to achieve autocratic overreach. The EU will need to find new ways to defend its legal order based on freedom.