«Geef die Italianen en Spanjaarden niet dat geld!». La vieja nueva normalidad de la Unión Europea: crisis pandémica, economía política e ideología

Abstract

The economic, political and social crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic can be interpreted as the authentic experimentum crucis of the always uncertain process of European integration, characterized by the — widely used but certain — Gramscian formula of the interregnum, where the old is dying and the new cannot be born. In this sense, current circumstances could boost a series of unprecedented trends, not even explored during the Euro Crisis of 2010-2012. The aim of this work is to investigate the possibilities emerging in the European context, starting from the political movements in recent months, with particular attention to the position of the Mediterranean countries, especially of Spain. To do this, and with the intention of avoiding mere empiricism, we first offer a general theoretical framework of the economic and political constitution of the EU, placing the focus on the ordoliberal matrix that inspires its macroeconomic policy and its effects, as well the institutional fragility that characterizes its political structure. We also intend to analyze the ideological-discursive element that operates as a framework of legitimacy in the implementation of community policies in the European area. From this double perspective it will then be possible to analyze how the EU response to the current crisis has worked as a catalyst for certain trends already present in the European scenario or as a creator of new patterns in its governance. European Union; Eurocrisis; European Integration; European Constitution; Spanish Politics; COVID19.