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1 [1] (December 1, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdcsg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Europe, COVID-19, and U.S. Relations Like most of the rest of the world, European governments and the European Union (EU)have struggled to manage the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. European leaders have characterized thepandemic as Europe's biggest challenge sincethe Second World War, with potentially far-reaching political, social, and economic consequences beyond the public health impact. COVID-19 also has addednew tensions to an already strainedU.S.- European partnership. Members of Congress may be interested in COVID-19's implications forU.S. relations with Europe, including in NATO and with the EU, and in how the pandemic might alter certain U.S.-European dynamics, especially vis-a-vis China. The first wave of the pandemic in Europe occurred in spring 2020 but subsided in the summer. A second wave began in early fall 2020. As of late November 2020, about 13.5 million confirmed COVID-19 infections and over 327,000 deaths had been reported across the 27-member EU, the United Kingdom(UK), Norway, and Switzerland (out of a combined population ofroughly 527 million). Table I. COVID-1 9 Cases and Deaths in Europe: Top I 0 Affected Countries (by number of cases, as of end of November 2020) Deaths Case per Fatality Country Cases Deaths 100,000 Rates France 2,270,573 52,410 78.24 2.3% Spain 1,628,208 44,668 95.60 2.7% UK 1,621,305 58,342 87.75 3.6% Italy 1,585,178 54,904 90.85 3.5% Germany 1,055,691 16,306 19.66 1.5% Poland 985,075 1 7,029 44.84 1.7% Belgium 576,599 16,547 144.87 2.9% Netherlands 527,336 9,426 54.70 1.8% Czech Rep. 519,723 8,138 76.59 1.6% Romania 471,536 11,193 57.48 2.4% Source: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Coronavirus Resou rce Center, November 30, 2020, updated daily at https://coronavirus.jh u.ed u/. As s een in Table 1, France, Spain, the UK, and Italy have experienced the largestnumber of infections. The second wave is hitting several Central and Eas tern European countries-including Poland and the Czech Republic- Updated December 1,2020 harder than the first wave. Although rising new infections may be due partly to increased testing, the second surge follows the relaxation ofrestrictions on social and economic activityin many European countries over the summer and the onsetof colder weather. Hospitalizations and deaths have been ticking upward throughout Europe. European Responses In March 2020, in response to the first wave of the pandemic,nearly all European governments imposed national lockdown restrictions and social-distancing measures-including banning large gatherings, closing schools and nonessential businesses, and restricting movement-although these measures varied by country in strictness and other aspects. Most European governments also enacted nationalbordercontrols. Swedentooka notably different approach that trusted citizens to practice s ocial dis tancing and imposed few mandatory restrictions; some public health experts remain skeptical about this policy's success in building immunity among the general public and contend it failed to protect the mostvulnerable. European governments began implementing phased reopeningplans in mid-April and early May 2020. Most European leaders stressed the need for continued social distancing, and many governments required theuseof facemasks, especially indoors. The pandemic has spurred serious economic difficulties throughout Europe. For 2020, the EU forecasts its total economy will contract by 7.4% and average unemployment across thebloc will rise to 7.7%. Projections suggestthe UK economy will contract by roughly 11% in 2020. Measures enactedby European governments to mitigate the economic downturn include lo an programs and credit guarantees for companies, income subsidies for affected workers, tax deferrals, and debt repayment deferments. As COVID-19 cases began to increase again in early fall, European governments initially attemptedto avoid asecond round ofnationallockdowns, opting instead for targeted restrictions on regional or localvirus hot spots to preserve economic recovery andin light of growing pandemic fatigue and public protests. Most governments have kept schools open, but as cases increased, many implemented progressively more restrictive measures. Such measures haveincluded imposing curfews, closingor reducing the operation of restaurants and bars, further limiting socialgatherings, and expanding mandatory mask usage. By the end of October, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and others reimposed national restrictions, although measures in some countries were less stringent than during the first wave. Several governments, including the UK and France, are expected to relax s ome res trictions for the upcoming Christmas holiday season.

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