Fostering unity in crisis: the European Commission’s commitment to solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic

Milestones like the June 2024 Council Conclusions on the future of the European Health Union (EHU) underscore solidarity as a core principle of the European Union (EU) and a foundational pillar for the EHU. This renewed emphasis draws on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Member States’ (MS) initial unilateral responses contrasted with this principle. Despite its importance, limited attention has been paid to how the European Commission sought to foster solidarity among MS during the crisis and to operationalise its meaning. Drawing on a qualitative document analysis of 50 Commission documents published in 2020, interpreted through a neofunctionalist lens, we show how the Commission framed solidarity in six recurring ways – burden-sharing, cohesion, resilience, responsibility, knowledge-sharing, and global outreach – and how these frames structured policy instruments and guidance. We argue that, under conditions of fragmented national responses and limited EU competences, the Commission used a combination of discourse and instruments to articulate and promote a practical understanding of solidarity. This process is consistent with a neofunctionalist logic of cultivated spillover, whereby supranational actors promote deeper cooperation across MS, thereby fostering solidarity.