Політика ФРН щодо подолання наслідків пандемії COVID-19

Abstract

UA : Об’єкт дослідження: є процес прийняття рішень урядом Ангели Меркель щодо подолання пандемії COVID-19 та її наслідків. Предметом дослідження є: політика ФРН щодо подолання наслідків пандемії COVID-19. Метою дослідження є розгляд особливості трансформації зовнішньої та внутрішньої політики Німеччини під час пандемії. Новизна роботи полягає в комплексному дослідженні проблеми. Увага приділяється не лише безпосередньо об'єкту, а й обставинам його формування. На прикладі даної проблематики ми можемо помітити що всі сфери життя взаємопов’язані, та будь яка кризова ситуація може повністю змінити облік життєдіяльності. Розвиток подій що призвели до пандемії та вирішенням цієї проблеми однією з найпровідніших країн світу та її партнерів повинне вивчатися системно. Основні висновки, до яких дійшов автор: Пандемія коронавірусу є найбільшою глобальною кризою охорони здоров’я за останні десятиліття. Це посилює існуючі проблеми та руйнує вже досягнутий прогрес у розвитку. Пандемія також є «поліпандемією», оскільки загрожує не лише здоров’ю, а й економічному розвитку, стабільності та миру у всьому світі. Найбідніші країни страждають найбільше і найменше можуть захистити себе. Системи охорони здоров’я, які і без того крихкі, вичерпують свій ресурс по максимуму. Наприклад, люди помирають від малярії, туберкульозу, СНІДу та інших хвороб, які піддаються лікуванню, тому що в країну не надходять ліки. Ця криза вплинула як на економіко-політичний аспект світу, так і на соціально-культурний. В епоху глобалізації та сучасних технологій люди почали пристосовуватись до нових норм життя, таких як «карантинні обмеження». Також ця криза показала що у держав немає механізмів для стримування вірусних інфекцій в котрих інкубаційний період більший ніж 7 днів.

EN : The coronavirus pandemic has been the biggest global health crisis in decades. It has exacerbated the existing problems and is destroying the progress already made in development. This pandemic is also a “polypandemic” since it threatens not only health but also economic development, stability and peace around the world. The poorest countries are suffering the most while being the least able to defend themselves. Healthcare systems, which are already fragile, are running out of resources. For example, people die from malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS and other treatable diseases as there are no medicine supplies to the country. The relevance of our research lies in the fact that we can trace the developments of the Federal Republic of Germany on this issue, as Germany is one of the recognized leaders in international relations and has membership in the structures of the global political and economic order in today’s globalization environment. Germany’s continued involvement in the life of international organizations specializing in health care during the pandemic has not received a comprehensive assessment yet. The relevance of the topic is due to both socio-economic and political factors. The pandemic and related health measures have had and continue to have significant economic and social consequences. As part of the 2020 economic crisis, the second quarter of 2020 saw the sharpest decline in gross domestic product compared to the previous quarter since the beginning of calculations in 1970. Families have been burdened by the closure of schools and kindergartens. Employees have experienced significant changes in their daily work, such as telecommuting. In addition, the pandemic has had many other consequences in various spheres of life. A lot of measures are considered controversial from a legal point of view. There have also been a number of controversies about the response to the pandemic in politics and society. Therefore, the research on this topic is quite relevant due to the contradictions both at the social and international levels. Germany is one of the main pandemic fighters in the world along with the United States. The research object is the decision-making process of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany with regard to overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. The research subject is the policy of Germany to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study is to consider the peculiarities of the transformation of German foreign and domestic policies during the pandemic. To achieve the aim set, the following research objectives are to be fulfilled:  to conduct a source analysis of the issue, and to identify a range of issues related to determining the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in the German foreign policy;  to determine the basic principles and research methods that will help in studying the methods of overcoming the consequences of COVID-19 given the external interests of Germany against the background of its European integration;  to identify the consequences for Germany after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic;  to analyze the economic consequences for Germany and the European Union;  to investigate the connection between the pandemic and the Bundestag elections. The chronological frame of the research is determined by the problem-thematic orientation and covers the period from 2019 up to 2021. The lower limit of the study is 2019, which is determined by the appearance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The upper time limit is 2021, which is due to the continued overcoming of the effects of the pandemic. The geographical boundaries of this study cover the territories of the member countries of the economic and political union of the EU and Germany. The novelty of the paper lies in a comprehensive study of the problem. Attention is paid not only to the object directly, but also to the circumstances of its formation. On the example of this issue, we can see that all spheres of life are interconnected, and any crisis situation can completely change the course of life. The development of the events that led to the pandemic as well as the solution of this problem by one of the world’s leading countries and its partners must be studied systematically. The theoretical significance of the research work lies in the fact that based on the study of the topic and analysis of the material it is possible to develop and improve the theoretical propositions, considering the German policies in economy, health care and international relations in crisis situations as the example. The applied significance of the research can be directly used by the state authorities of our country, which are engaged in resolving the crisis caused by the SARS-COV-2 pandemic virus and improving the institutions to minimize risks in the future. Conclusions. The issue is quite relevant today, but the topic has not been sufficiently studied yet. The paper examines and specifies the policy of Germany after the emergence of the acute respiratory infectious disease COVID-19 in the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union, successes and failures of the German government in its policy to overcome the crisis. It can be concluded that foreign policy and security policy should be strategically interlinked. The EU Commission should be supported in its efforts to combine various instruments of the EU foreign policy, in particular trade and investment policy with diplomatic efforts, as well as with security and defense policy measures. At the intergovernmental level, a Permanent Ministerial Council for combatting the crisis should be established. This should coordinate strategic priorities as well as Member States’ defense strategies. The EU’s capacity to manage crises must be strengthened during the pandemic. The crisis management measures on behalf of the EU can be transferred to the groups of interested Member States, EU leaders. Only large investments in the technological and digital structure of information and communication technologies can make the EU more resilient to external shocks and develop more sustainable economic and social policies. In the field of digitalization, Europeans will still not be able to compete with the United States and China. The EU countries must no longer lag behind the United States, especially in key artificial intelligence technologies, which will be core to future foreign and security policy. The coronavirus is hitting the economy and society seriously. It is now impossible to assess with some certainty how drastic the direct and indirect consequences will actually be: neither for health, nor for national economies, or even for the entire world economic system. It is clear, however, that the scale of the crisis and the measures taken to overcome it are of the intensity that we considered unthinkable a few years ago. The pandemic has revealed some long-standing structural deficiencies in various areas. In the acute phase of the crisis, the United States government and the Federal government made the right decisions for the countries under high pressure and stress in society characterized by great complexity and uncertainty. The aim is to make the economy even more resilient and competitive in general, and to take precautionary measures against other possible crisis scenarios. The probability of their occurrence should be reduced. The crisis has clearly demonstrated that we face special challenges in those areas where the existing technological potential has not yet been exhausted, namely digitalization. The recommendations focus on prevention and forecasting, a safer increase, especially in the field of labor, innovation program for the economy and the use of new technologies in the service of society. In the future, we will pay more attention to short, traceable delivery routes and regional products. However, global trade will continue to play a central role. The production of basic necessities, such as medicines and food, is growing locally. For certain products, regional affordability will be more important than cheap production costs. Due to the destruction of the economic and labor sectors, many people are at risk of unemployment and poverty. It will be necessary to stop the practice with the classical division of labor and offer opportunities for a second educational path, working life. The pandemic has shown particularly clearly that there is a shortage of qualified personnel in systemically important professions (nursing, retail, etc.). The measures on simple retraining and advanced training, as well as more favorable working conditions should make these professions more attractive in the future and protect them from mass unemployment. The coronavirus has demonstrated the importance of strong and reliable unemployment insurance with its various tools (including redundancy, skills, etc.) and unemployment benefits. Thus, a comprehensive strategy means that, inter alia, access to unemployment benefits should be simplified through a longer period of unemployment benefits to avoid premature transition to basic homelessness benefits. In addition to qualification protection, the unemployed also need the legal right to active support measures, forced part-time work should be removed, and biased time constraints should be lifted. Basic social security payments also need to be improved and increased, as low-income households have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic. We need an effective welfare policy, the financial burden of which is fairly distributed and people are well protected from old and new risks in life. If the pandemic had anything positive, it is the realization that its consequences for the people would be even worse without the social cohesion of the EU governments. But cheap applause is not enough for the tireless efforts of many employees in clinics or retailers. In the early months of the coronavirus, there seemed to be a far-reaching consensus in political discourse that there should be no problems after the crisis. However, the debate had a little to do with the reflections about the services of common interest and common good, about restructuring of the relationship between democratic politics and profit-oriented economy. Some significant progress has been made in the fight against COVID-19 as a result of vaccination campaigns in Europe. However, the situation is still very serious in some Member States. The efforts to overcome vaccination skepticism, including by combating misinformation, in particular on social media platforms, should be made to further increase vaccination coverage throughout the Union and the world at large. There also should remain some vigilance with regard to emergence and dissemination of possible new options. In view of the evolving epidemiological situation, the European Council calls for continued coordination to facilitate free movement and travel within the EU, as well as for the revision of the two Council recommendations. The Council calls on the Commission to speed up its work with third countries on the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates. Based on the experience of the COVID-19 crisis, it is necessary to strengthen the crisis prevention mechanisms and the EU’s readiness for similar crisis situations. In order to ensure better prevention, preparedness and response to future health crises in the EU, the negotiations on a package of legislation on the Health Union need to be finalized, and the crisis preparedness in Member States should be ensured and the response bodies should be properly managed. All Member States need resources to move forward rapidly in access to medicines in health emergencies. Overall, the EU remains committed to contributing to the international vaccination program and ensuring access to vaccine for all. Germany calls for the rapid removal of obstacles to the global availability of vaccines and calls on the Commission to continue to work directly with manufacturers in this regard. This will allow Member States to speed up the delivery of vaccines to the countries being most in need. The EU will continue to support the production and coverage of vaccines in partner countries.