“I am not an Athenian, nor a Greek, but a citizen of the world” said Socrates. With reflection time now available to me in a greater abundance than I am accustomed to, never has this struck me as more true. The global health crisis we are all grappling with has, for me, exposed two essential facts. The first is that we are all equal. The virus that plagues us is indiscriminate. It knows no borders, social class, income bracket, religion or culture.
The second is that none of us are alone. This may feel paradoxical as we all sit isolated in our homes. But what this crisis has shown is that our every action has implications for others. And, quite simply, we need each other.
These humbling facts have rung true in our response, here in Europe, to the crisis. In the first days, there were predictably divergent national reactions, understandable given the scale and nature of the crisis. But it took no time at all for our Member States to realise coordinated lines of action are the only course forward. Because we are not alone, we are all equally affected and we can only succeed in successfully combatting this crisis if we work together, individually and collectively, to protect our citizens. This starts by strengthening and supporting our public health systems, our security systems and our food and medical supply chains. All of our Member States have put in..''
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