Single Voice in the European Union and the Effect of Covid-19 on the Process

Abstract

The European Union, which was founded in 1951 with economic concerns and has been trying to integrate both economically and politically, has taken steps towards univocality with the aim of evolving into a federative structure. Over time, it took on a supranational structure and achieved this by delegating authority to the institutions it created. The expansion of cooperation areas such as the transition to the Euro and free movement led to the growth of the Union's economic volume, the development of its borders, and the increase in its population and areas of responsibility. However, the Union lost its emphasis on single voice with the economic crises in the member countries, the rise of the far right, Brexit and most recently the Covid-19 epidemic, on the way to create a "Single Voice" in Europe.

Within the scope of the study, while the important steps that brought the Union closer to being a single Europe were examined, the opposite and distinctive features were also examined. The main research point of the study is the effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the single voice of the Union. In this context, the focus has been on the reflection of the decisions taken by the member countries during the epidemic, their economic situations, and the problems such as vaccine supply to the Union. In this respect, the study examines how the Union, which had experienced internal fractures before, moved towards integration and becoming a "Europe with Single Voice" when faced with a global health crisis.