The adoption of covid-related eu legislation: what role for national parliaments under eu law?

The European Council’s conclusions of February 20, 2020 show that the Member States’ heads of State and Government had initially underestimated the Coronavirus emergency and its potential consequences. Nonetheless, things changed after the worsening of the health crisis in Lombardy and also due to some skirmishes between the Member States over the supply of medical equipment. The European Council held a videoconference on Covid on March 10 in which heads of State and Government highlighted the need to work together and identified the main priorities for the European Institutions’ future actions. Unfortunately, public debate about the Union and the Covid emergency – especially in the media – usually focuses solely on financial issues, whereas no one ever mentions the key role played by the European legislator.