INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 crisis has rampaged across the European Union over the last two weeks and has already left a very different Union in its trail. The European institutions have entered an effective lockdown, national borders have been re-erected and financial institutions are preparing for an economic slowdown to rival that of the 2008 financial crisis. Initially accused of being slow to react, the European Union and its member states have sprung into action over the few weeks and launched a series of major countermeasures at both the Union and national level. These measures have touched issues across the board ranging from national lockdowns, to school closures, to new state aid measures to help those impacted by the crisis to an injection of some 750 billion euros into the economy. Whilst the member states remain responsible for national health issues, COVID-19 and its impact across the board has meant that the EU has had to be involved. This remains the start of this crisis which promises to go on for some months and it is certain that the situation will remain fluid for some time. This paper gives an insight to the measures taken at the European, national and global levels over the last week and is accurate at the time of writing. However, given the speed with which developments are proceeding, it is likely that the situation will have changed once again by the end of the weekend. ➢ GLOBAL OUTLOOK ➢ EUROPEAN UNION ➢ TIMELINE: MARCH 16-20 ➢ MEMBER STATES GLOBAL OUTLOOK The week began with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres calling for a global ceasefire to protect the most vulnerable people, considering the catastrophic impact that the spread of the virus could have in conflict areas. "The virus does not care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith", SG Guterres said, "It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives". Meanwhile, the leaders of the G20 held a virtual meeting on March 26 resulting in a statement released following the meeting, G20 Leaders remarked that fighting the pandemic requires “a transparent, robust, coordinated, large-scale and science-based global response in the spirit of solidarity”. Combating it and addressing its health, social, and economic implications represents an “absolute priority”, and the G20 stands ready “to do whatever it takes”, the statement reads. Efforts will most notably focus on protecting lives; safeguarding people’s jobs and incomes; restoring confidence, preserving financial stability, reviving growth, and recovering stronger; minimising disruptions to trade and global supply chains; providing help to all countries in need of assistance; coordinating on public health and financial measures. To that end, cooperation with and support to the WHO and front-line international organizations will be key. On the EU’s side, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participated in the videoconference. They echoed the call that “unprecedented events call for unprecedented action” and that a “fast, massive and coordinated global action” is the only way forward in tackling the present crisis. The Presidents also reiterated that “G20 countries should coordinate their macroeconomic policies, mobilising all instruments available, to mitigate the economic downturn, support workers and companies most affected” and that it is essential to ensure that trade flows and supply chains remains open. Furthermore, the Presidents commended the G20’s call for a global initiative on pandemic preparedness and response to be led by the WHO. This had been preceded by a G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting on March 23, which focused on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and coordinate their efforts in response to this global challenge. Among other things, they agreed to develop a joint G20 Action Plan in response to COVID-19, which will outline the individual and collective actions that G20 has taken and will be taking to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors met the following day and issued a statement saying that they would do "whatever is necessary to restore confidence and economic growth and to protect jobs, businesses, and the resilience of the financial system". Meanwhile, the OECD followed up a report that it published on March 20 on policies aimed at providing effective care and managing the pressure on health systems in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak, with a statement from their Secretary-General Angel Gurría calling for sweeping joint action by governments to defeat the health, economic, and social threats of the coronavirus pandemic. The OECD called for joint actions in the areas of healthcare, shoring up the economy, financial regulation and supervision and measures to address trade tensions to help restore confidence. With this in mind, the OECD launched a new online policy hub to help support policy makers. In trade news, on March 24, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo called on WTO members to share information about their COVID-19 policies with trade implications. That information will feed into the next trade monitoring report, which is set to focus on measures taken between mid-October 2019 and mid-May 2020. DG Azevêdo underlined that transparency vis-à-vis trade-related measures is essential, most notably for those countries that rely on imports for medical supplies. In this context, DG Azevêdo also decided to set up a task force of experts from across the WTO Secretariat to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on trade flows and the overall global economy. EUROPEAN UNION As the European Union closes its third week of the Coronavirus outbreak, grim health and economic outlooks have motivated some EU institutions to take unprecedented actions. As some member states experienced their first drops in new reported cases of COVID-19, and other countries around the world are only beginning to come to grips with the reality of the disease, the EU looks in better shape than it did a week ago. Throughout the week, and the previous weekend, the Commission announced several key measures to address the ongoing crisis and to help weather the storm caused by the outbreak. From an economic perspective, the Commission reacted by proposing to activate the escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact, announcing previously unseen flexibility on state aid rules and approving many such schemes in matter of hours, as well as putting forward proposals to contribute close to €38 Billion is support to member states’ economies and healthcare systems. Health sector From a health perspective, the Commission freely published European manufacturing standards for medical supplies while Commissioners Vestager and Breton highlighted the benefits of the EU’s industrial ecosystem, as players in the medical equipment value chain come together to ramp up production. The Commission also announced that its joint procurement plan for PPE was successful and that it was adopting decisions on harmonised standards which will allow manufacturers to place on the market high performing devices – including medical devices – to protect patients, health care professionals and citizens. For its part, the ECDC noted in its latest rapid risk assessment on COVID-19, on March 25th, that the risk of healthcare system capacity being exceeded in the EU/EEA and the UK in the coming weeks is considered high, despite the efforts currently in place. As such, while the EU has given itself the tools to overcome the crisis, the Union is not yet out of the woods. On March 26th, in spite of national lockdowns, several MEPs gathered in Brussels for an extraordinary Plenary session during which they approved crucial proposals to provide close to €38 Billion in support to member states’ economies and healthcare systems. The Parliament also approved the Commission’s proposal on airport slots. In terms on next steps: the Council has to formally approve Parliament's position; the adopted measures will enter into force once published in the Official Journal of the European Union in the coming days. On the same day, the European Council held a videoconference during which they agreed to continue to fight the disease by no few means and tackle the socio-economic consequences head on, in particular by supporting flexibility for member states. In particular, European leaders agreed that, while the most urgent matter is to fight the pandemic, the EU should also begin to prepare to get back to a normal functioning of European societies and economies. Food supply In the area of food supply, on March 25, the Croatian Council Presidency published a press release following the videoconference of EU Ministers in charge of agriculture and fisheries . Ministers discussed measures already taken, as well as those planned at the national and European level in order to counteract the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agriculture and fisheries sector. "In order to ensure normal functioning of the food supply chain, it is crucial to identify critical obstacles caused by covid-19 pandemic. We managed to identify it today. The main issues pointed to by most Member States were restrictions in movement of goods, changes in consumption patterns and in the operation of agri-food production systems, as well as insufficient workforce due to border closures, social distance requirements, mandatory isolation or quarantine. After today's exchange, we have a clearer idea of the situation." Prior to the meeting, the European Parliament published a press release on "Helping farmers secure supply of food for all", summing up two letters that Norbert Lins addressed to the EU's Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski and to Croatia's Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković (currently Chair of the EU Council of agriculture ministers).