EU annual regional and local Full Report an ope Uni r on Eu r S mbe tat ities an e es , c d M s vi n ll o a i g g e e s R #EURegionalBarometer Brussels 2 October 2020 2020 Barometer of Regions and Cities Disclaimer: This report was written by staff of the CoR administration and the views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the CoR. Every effort has been made to provide accurate and complete information, however the CoR cannot guarantee this accuracy and does not accept responsibility with regards to the contents of this report. In addition, some of the data including charts and maps, does not cover all Member States or all regions of the European Union. This is the case in particular for the outermost regions of the EU, which are omitted from certain maps produced by other parties and reproduced in this report. Table of contents Executive summary .......................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter I – COVID-19: first a health crisis .................................................................................................. 9 A. Spread of coronavirus throughout the EU ......................................................................................................................... 9 B. Local and regional differences ................................................................................................................................................ 15 C. Regional and local examples of health response ........................................................................................................ 23 Chapter II – The economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis ....................................................... 31 A. Overview of economic impact ............................................................................................................................................... 31 B. Impact on local and regional finances ............................................................................................................................... 44 C. Examples of regional and local economic responses .............................................................................................. 49 Chapter III – An accelerated digital transition and the impact of COVID-19 on the urban-rural divide .............................................................................................................................................................. 59 A. Alleviating the crisis with digital services ......................................................................................................................... 59 B. Fighting the virus with digital technology ...................................................................................................................... 65 C. Trends and opportunities for cities and regions .......................................................................................................... 67 D. Digitalisation and the urban-rural divide ......................................................................................................................... 68 Chapter IV – The social and employment impact of COVID-19 ........................................................... 73 A. Social, employment and demographic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic ........................... 73 B. Impact on education .................................................................................................................................................................... 80 C. Youth activism and contribution to tackling the pandemic ................................................................................ 83 D. Gender issues ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 84 Chapter V – The environmental impact of COVID-19 ........................................................................... 87 A. Facts and figures on the environmental impact ......................................................................................................... 87 B. Climate, environment and COVID-19: a complex interaction ............................................................................. 92 Chapter VI – Local democracy and governance in the COVID-19 crisis ............................................. 97 A. The democratic process during the COVID-19 crisis ................................................................................................ 97 B. Governance in the EU during the COVID crisis ............................................................................................................. 99 C. The situation in the EU's neighbourhood ...................................................................................................................... 108 Chapter VII – A first assessment of the impact of the EU response at local and regional level . 111 A. EU emergency support ............................................................................................................................................................. 111 B. The European Recovery Plan ................................................................................................................................................. 117 C. Green recovery for a more resilient society .................................................................................................................. 125 Key conclusions and recommendations ............................................................................................... 129 Annexes ....................................................................................................................................................... 135 A. List of abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................................................... 135 D. Table of Figures .............................................................................................................................................................................. 136 1 2 Executive summary With the European death toll from COVID-19 approaching 200 000 at the time of writing, the global pandemic is no doubt a crisis of historic proportions. Though unevenly, the whole of the European Union was affected by the pandemic, which upended priorities and became the overriding focus of public policy and public action at all levels. Nothing had prepared European regions and cities for this unprecedented crisis, yet, from February 2020, they had to face the pandemic and its deadly impact. A differentiated impact at regional and local level Many local and regional authorities have faced enormous challenges to maintain adequate health and care capacities to respond effectively to COVID-19. There were marked differences in death rates between regions depending not only on the circulation of the virus, but also on healthcare infrastructures, availability of equipment and personnel, or the age structure of the population. Territories with more polluted air and vulnerable groups were also more exposed to the effects of the pandemic. In order to fight the pandemic, EU Member States put in place lockdowns and other restrictive measures, which had considerable economic and social costs – albeit differentiated – throughout the EU. The most socially and economically hard-hit regions are those that were under strict lockdown measures for the longest period, not necessarily the ones with the highest death rates or the most cases detected. Most hard-hit regions are also the ones relying on economic sectors heavily affected by lock-down measures such as tourism or the cultural industry, or with economic structures based on SMEs, self-employed people, other non-standard workers, and of course those highly dependent on international trade. The crisis turned digital technologies into an imperative. Online solutions became essential for public authorities across EU regions and cities in fighting the pandemic and its consequences. This could bolster the ongoing digital transition but also risks exacerbating the "digital divide", including between rural and urban areas, large and small companies, and digitally skilled workers and others. At the same time, an increased use of teleworking may cause demographic and economic shifts from the cities towards suburban or rural areas. The differentiated impact of the crisis drew a new geography in the EU – a COVID-19 geography – distinct from the traditional dividing lines of urban/rural, centre/periphery or cohesion regions. It calls for a very careful assessment of regions' needs for support and makes coordinated, tailored responses necessary. Local and regional authorities on the front-line of the emergency Cities, regions and villages have played a major role both through their own policy decisions and actions, and through the implementation of policies decided at higher levels of government. They were quick to develop social support schemes to help people, with specific attention to vulnerable groups such as minorities, isolated people, the elderly, women, migrants, poor people, parents or students, and they strove to