European Mediterranean Countries: Covid-19 Experiences

E. E. Ryabtseva

, G. V. Kosov

and E. N. Maksimova

Institute of Social Sciences and International Relations, FSAEI HE Sevastopol State University, Sevastopol, Russia

Keywords: Mediterranean Countries, Covid 19, State of Emergency, Economy, Tourism, Employment, Crisis.

Abstract: The authors analyzed the actions of the governments of the three European Mediterranean states (Italy, Spain,

France) to support business and citizens during the pandemic and identified the reasons for the worsening of

the situation, despite the efforts being made. The study is based on data from the World Health Organization

(WHO), as well as regulatory documents of the EU, the governments of Italy, Spain, France. Statistical data

on economic losses in industry and trade, as well as on the employment of the population is provided. The

SWOT analysis carried out by the authors showed that, despite external and internal threats and negative

impacts on the economy as a whole and on individual industries, in particular, nation states, have the potential

for a worthy way out of this situation.

1 INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 virus has now been recorded in all

European countries. Italy, Spain, France are among

the countries of Europe with the largest number of

cases.

Table 1: Infection with coronavirus in different European countries as of October 14, 2021.

Country

Total infections Death cases

Recover Sick now

United Kingdom

8,317,439 +44,556 138,237 +157 6,802,672 +37,043 1,376,530

Russia

7,892,980 +31,299 220,315 +986 6,937,756 +21,670 734,909

France

7,074,276 +5,187 117,211 +38 6,866,428 +5,856 90,637

ain

4,982,138 +4,690 86,917 +90 4,825,794 +9,600 69,427

Italy

4,709,753 +2,666 131,461 +40 4,498,924 +3,709 79,368

German

4,357,616 +9,620 95,285 +65 4,125,100 +8,700 137,231

Polan

2,931,064 +2,999 76,018 +60 2,671,199 +805 183,847

Ukraine

2,597,275 +18,881 59,935 +412 2,311,991 +7,630 225,349

Netherlands

2,036,628 +3,623 18,231 +4 1,956,435 +1,997 61,962

Czech

1,704,436

30,524 +6 1,660,434

13,478

Romania

1,414,647 +16,383 40,765 +304 1,210,494 +11,227 163,388

Belgium

1,272,669 +3,667 25,726 +13 1,181,547

65,396

Sweden

1,161,264 +799 14,886 +4 1,127,869 +1,111 18,509

Portu

1,077,963 +777 18,071 +6 1,029,815 +728 30,077

Serbia

1,031,283 +6,786 8,946 +54 896,785 +6,141 125,552

Switzerlan

853,637 +979 11,163 +6 804,982 +1,987 37,492

Hungary

831,866 +1,141 30,341 +11 790,127 +422 11,398

Austria

768,711 +2,169 11,143 +8 737,170 +1,605 20,398

Greece

687,278 +2,572 15,289 +48 644,925 +1,767 27,064

Belarus

565,865 +2,052 4,353 +17 539,252 +1,725 22,260

Bulgaria

531,129 +3,327 22,004 +98 453,667 +1,836 55,458

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0130-9942

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166

Ryabtseva, E., Kosov, G. and Maksimova, E.

European Mediterranean Countries: Covid-19 Experiences.

DOI: 10.5220/0011112400003439

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference "COVID-19: Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals" (RTCOV 2021), pages 166-171

ISBN: 978-989-758-617-0

Slovakia 431,757 +1,871 12,791 +19 399,735 +1,407 19,231

Croatia 422,908 +1,851 8,847 +18 404,441 +1,305 9,620

Irelan

409,647 +1,626 5,306

363,406 +1,150 40,935

Denmar

366,607 +767 2,676 +2 356,134 +416 7,797

Lithuania 360,763 +2,962 5,349 +41 323,641 +2,004 31,773

Moldova 312,442 +3,718 7,137 +61 291,490 +2,575 13,815

Slovenia 304,963 +2,309 4,627 +9 288,744 +2,362 11,592

Bosnia and Herzegovina 243,220 +751 11,078 +32 192,218

39,924

Macedonia 195,963 +421 6,888 +13 182,473 +395 6,602

Norwa

195,187 +369 884

88,952

105,351

Latvia 178,298 +2,408 2,857 +21 154,377 +1,197 21,064

Albania 176,667 +1,003 2,797 +14 167,308 +1,299 6,562

Estonia 168,884 +1,056 1,409 +5 151,561 +747 15,914

Finlan

149,174 +502 1,109

46,000

102,065

Montene

ro 136,681 +700 2,010 +10 129,709 +973 4,962

rus 120,120 +142 560

90,755

28,805

Luxembour

79,628 +165 838

77,362 +127 1,428

Malta 37,412 +19 459

36,268 +15 685

Andorra 15,326 +19 130

15,130 +17 66

Icelan

12,390 +48 33

11,887 +26 470

Channel Islands 12,072 +55 98

11,606 +41 368

Isle of Man 8,254 +70 54

7,681 +56 519

Gibralta

5,727 +20 97

5,471 +7 159

San Marino 5,470

5,343

Liechtenstein 3,473 +5 60

3,389

Monaco 3,337

3,278

Faroe islands 1,319 +8 2

1,219 +16 98

Greenlan

645 +7

610 +19 35

Vatican 27

Total 61,158,278 +187,045 1,255,041 +2,672 55,883,581 +141,713 4,019,656

According to the regional office of the World

Health Organization (WHO), in the summer, in 22

countries of the Mediterranean region, an increase in

the incidence of coronavirus COVID-19 was

recorded due to the high tourist flow. “Despite efforts

to contain the virus, on average, the region is

registering a higher number of new cases per week

compared to the same period last year,” said WHO

Regional Director Ahmed Al Mandhari (13. WHO

announced).

One of the first to come under attack were the

countries of Europe, and in particular - Italy. The

COVID-19 epidemic has affected all spheres of

society, primarily the economy. Tourism and

information technology are also of greatest concern.

There was an opinion about the "pan-European crisis"

in connection with the pandemic.

The purpose of our study is to study the practices

of three Mediterranean states of Italy, Spain, and

France in supporting businesses and citizens during a

pandemic and to identify the reasons for the

worsening of the situation, despite the efforts being

made.

2 STUDY METHODS

The study is based on data from the World Health

Organization (WHO), as well as regulatory

documents of the EU, the governments of Italy,

Spain, France (decrees, resolutions, development

programs). The theoretical basis of the study was the

publications of domestic and foreign economists and

lawyers on the problems of overcoming the economic

consequences of emergency situations.

The empirical material is properly summarized

and structured in terms of argumentation from the

main points that reveal the means to achieve the

research goal. The methodological basis of the study

was general scientific methods of cognition,

involving the study of economic laws and phenomena

in development and interconnection: analysis,

synthesis, deduction and induction, analytical

comparisons, SWOT analysis.

European Mediterranean Countries: Covid-19 Experiences

167

3 STUDY RESULTS

3.1 Italy

At the end of February of 2020 Italy came second in

the world in terms of the number of infections (China

remained in first place). At the moment, the peak of

the epidemic in Italy has passed (Coronavirus: Hope).

In May of 2020, the Court of Accounts (the

supreme audit institution) presented a report to the

government containing a number of

recommendations for taking urgent measures to

protect health, support employment of the population

and the economy in connection with the

consequences of the crisis in the country. The Court

of Accounts arranges events on various topics in the

context of the spread of COVID-19.

The Italian government introduced a state of

emergency on January 31, 2020, a decision was made

to de facto isolation of the entire northern region of

Lombardy and 14 provinces in the Veneto regions,

including Venice, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and

the Marche. There were general travel restrictions,

bans on public events, the closure of schools and

public spaces, and the suspension of religious events,

including funerals and weddings. Restrictions have

been placed on the opening hours of bars and

restaurants. It was forbidden to leave the house. For

violation of quarantine measures, a fine of 400 to 3

thousand euros is provided. The authorities of some

regions, which were hit hardest by the epidemic

(Lombardy, Bologna, etc.), raised the fine to 5

thousand euros. The Italian authorities have

repeatedly extended the restrictive measures

(www.governo.it).

Even with the relaxation of emergency measures

in transport and enclosed spaces, masks shall be

worn. The extension of the state of emergency has a

negative impact on tourism: the country accepts

tourists from EU countries, however, for example,

tourists from the United States are prohibited from

entering.

The Italian government has allocated 400 billion

euros to support enterprises in connection with the

situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wherein, 200 billion euros are intended for

companies operating in the domestic market, and the

same amount is provided for firms specializing in

export. This amount is added to the 350 billion euros

previously allocated to support families and the

population. Just 700 billion euros, that's almost half

of Italy's GDP (iz.ru).

Four categories of citizens are designated who are

entitled to compensation in connection with the

coronavirus pandemic:

 self-employed persons;

 individual entrepreneurs;

 agricultural workers;

 tourism and entertainment workers.

The state pledged to compensate for the losses due

to the quarantine of private sector workers.

The Italian economy considers the basic

industries to be the automotive and aviation industry,

food and beverage, banking and finance, retail trade,

travel and tourism, healthcare and some others,

providing 40 % of national income and employment.

In addition, Italy is one of the largest suppliers of

textiles and high quality luxury clothing.

In accordance with the Prime Minister's decree on

additional measures to combat COVID-19 dated

March 22, 2020, all industrial and commercial

production activities in Italy have been suspended,

with the exception of the production and

transportation of medicines, medical technologies

and medical-surgical devices, as well as agricultural

and food products. The most affected are the northern

regions of Italy, which accounts for about 45 % of the

country's economic activity and where the largest

manufacturing industries, light industry and

metallurgy enterprises are located.

However, since the end of April, the restrictions

imposed have been eased. Despite the noticeable

damage from the pandemic to the Italian economy as

a whole, revenue growth has been observed in some

areas. The highest growth at the end of the year was

shown by electronic commerce, the sale of food

products, the sale of medical goods and drugs

(www.statista.com).

3.2 Spain

As of October 14, 2021, Spain ranked fourth in the

world in the number of cases.

In connection with the spread of the coronavirus

infection COVID-19, the government introduced a

state of emergency throughout the country from

March 14, 2020, which was then repeatedly extended.

In accordance with the adopted restrictions, places of

possible gathering of people and holding mass events,

catering establishments, with some exceptions, and

hotels were closed. Wherein, practically all chain

food supermarkets and small grocery stores, shops,

markets, pharmacies, medical institutions operate;

airports, railway stations, stations and bus stations;

postal and courier services work (www.bbc.com).

Fines were imposed for violation of the restriction

regime from 600 to 10.5 thousand euros or criminal

liability (ach.gov.ru).

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All travelers entering Spain were placed in a

mandatory two-week quarantine.

At the moment, there is an increase in the number

of cases of coronavirus infection in Catalonia,

Aragon, Barcelona. The authorities assure that the

situation is under control and the country is waiting

for tourists from the EU (www.lamoncloa.gob.es).

To support citizens, the government has provided

the following measures (www.covid19healthsystem

.org):

 it is recommended to arrange work remotely,

where possible.

 digitalization of small and medium-sized

enterprises is accelerated.

 those who lose their jobs or a significant part of

their income due to COVID-19 receive

unemployment benefits for one month.

 COVID-19 infection classified as industrial

accident as of 11 March of 2020

 the Autonomous Communities (the main

administrative-territorial unit of Spain) received

25 million euros to provide meals to socially

vulnerable children who previously used the

services of school canteens.

 300 million euros are allocated to support

vulnerable groups through social services.

To support business, measures of budgetary support

for enterprises are provided:

deferred payment of taxes for up to six months;

a special line of credit from the Spanish Official

Credit Institute in the amount of 400 million euros to

support the liquidity of enterprises and self-employed

in the tourism and related industries affected by the

effects of the pandemic;

 deferral of payment of debt on loans received by

companies under the General Secretariat for

Industry and SMEs mechanism;

 reduction of social insurance contributions for

tourist workers and related industries, the labor

contract of which was or will be terminated in the

period from February to May of the current year;

 cancellation of the mechanism providing for

penalties for airlines for canceling flights during the

tourist season (www.mineco.gob.es).

In order to further protect companies, a temporary

ban was introduced on the short sale of shares of

Spanish companies on the stock market – a measure

that few states have resorted to (www.imf.org).

Compared to other EU states, Spain is in a more

difficult economic situation. The country's GDP,

according to official data, may decrease by 9.2 %, the

budget deficit may exceed 10 %, and unemployment

may cover 20 % of the working-age population.

According to the data of the Bank of Spain, the

decline in economic activity affected 80 % of

industrial companies, while every fifth company

(small and medium-sized businesses) was forced to

curtail production due to a reduction in the supply of

components from abroad in the context of restrictive

measures, which shows a strong dependence from

imports (www.publico.es).

Restrictive measures have led to an increase in the

number of unemployed by 900 thousand new ones

(with a total number of employed 18 million people).

The pandemic has had a particularly strong impact

on the automotive industry, which is one of the main

industrial sectors in Spain and other countries of the

European Union. To support the automotive industry,

the European Central Bank announced the purchase

of € 750 billion in sovereign and corporate debt to

maintain the liquidity of the financial system and

support large enterprises.

However, experts predict contraction of Spain's

GDP by 5.7 % at the end of 2020, compared with the

contraction of the entire EU economy by 5.2 %. A

higher share of the tourism sector, as well as a wider

spread of small and medium-sized enterprises (47 %

of Spanish companies have fewer than 20 employees,

compared to 37.5 % of such companies on average in

Europe) that are vulnerable in a pandemic are cited as

the main reasons for the stronger decline.

3.3 France

On January 24, 2020, the first case of COVID-19

infection in France was registered in Bordeaux. On

October 14, 2021, France ranks third in terms of the

number of infected.

The French government has adopted a four-stage

plan to prevent and overcome the consequences of the

pandemic:

Stage I – containment of the virus entering the

country (from February 23, 2020);

Stage II – containing the spread of the virus

throughout France (from February 29, 2020);

Stage III – mitigating the consequences of the

epidemic (from March 14, 2020);

Stage IV – returning to the situation before the

outbreak of the epidemic (www.gouvernement.fr).

Local restrictions affected the departments of

Haute-Savoie, Oise, Morbihan, Haute-Rhine and the

Corsica region, where measures ranged from the

cancellation of public events to the closure of schools.

In connection with the worsening morbidity statistics,

the President of France introduced a general isolation

regime on March 17, 2020.

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169

In this regard, measures have been taken to

provide disabled workers with material assistance,

and benefits are provided for temporarily

unemployed or completely unemployed. The volume

of payments amounted to 84 % of the wages received

on hand, for those whose salary does not exceed 4.5

times the minimum wage. The budget for

compensation of wages increased to 24 billion euros

(russiancouncil.ru).

The business support measures taken by the

French government are in line with pan-European

trends to help the economy recover from the effects

of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the latest

updated estimates of the Brussels International

Analytical Center BRUEGEL, as of June 18, 2020,

the measures taken of direct budgetary stimulus to the

economy were identified in a total of 106 billion euros

(4.4 % of GDP), deferrals for the payment of taxes

and other payments - 210 billion euros (8.7 % of

GDP), and other mechanisms to increase liquidity,

including the provision of government guarantees -

342 billion euros (14.2 % of GDP) (www.bruege

l.org).

The main measures to support business in the

framework of these areas include: the issuance of

grants to affected companies in the amount of up to

10 thousand euros, as well as 2.2 billion euros of

budgetary funds to finance the deferred payment of

social contributions for small and medium-sized

enterprises in the tourism sector, and plus 6.5 billion

euros in the form of government guarantees for loans

to tourism companies; the government has approved

an ambitious work-time compensation program to

prevent massive layoffs in the short term. Despite

this, according to the French National Institute of

Statistics and Economic Research, only at the initial

stage of the pandemic, the economy lost 453.8

thousand jobs due to the fact that in the first quarter

companies massively refused to extend fixed-term

employment contracts with employees (iz.ru).

4 RESULT DISCUSSION

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the

entire European society and, above all, the economy.

The greatest economic losses in a pandemic are

recorded in the states of southern Europe (Italy, Spain

and Greece).

For example, sales of non-food products,

excluding motor fuel, fell in March-April in all EU

member states, but the largest decline was recorded in

Spain (-55.2 %), Italy (-50.2 %) and France (-

49.8 %). The largest drop in the level of sales of

automotive fuel over the same period was also noted

in Italy (-66.2 %), France (-64.7 %) and Spain (-

56.5 %), while the EU average for this indicator is

42.6 %. In addition, of all countries for which data are

available, retail trade also declined the most in France

(-31.1 %), followed by Spain (-29.8 %), Malta (-

24.8 %) and Luxembourg (-24.7 %) (www.mineco

.gob.es).

Wherein, a significant increase in unemployment

is recorded. Namely, in the EU this figure may

increase from 6.7 % in 2019 to 9.0 % in 2020, in the

eurozone — from 7.5 % to 9.5 % (russiancouncil.ru).

Despite the extraordinary measures to support the

national economy, business and citizens, the studied

states are experiencing unprecedented difficulties.

The reasons for the worsening of the situation are:

 freedom of movement between EU states;

 influx of tourists;

 the largest percentage of elderly and elderly

citizens who are more vulnerable to COVID-19;

Table 2: SWOT analysis of external and internal threats and negative impacts on the economy.

Strengths Opportunities

proven stability of certain sectors of the economy

(for example, tourism) in past crises

adaptive potential

state support of certain sectors of the economy

innovations and digitalization of economic sectors

sustainable development and sustainable development-oriented

segments (agriculture, nature, health)

progress in adaptation plans in the country as a whole and in

companies

Weaknesses Threats

violation of international

value chains due to border closures

a dramatic reduction in effective demand for industrial

products both in the domestic and foreign markets,

arriers to company operations created by restrictive

measures by national governments

• serious disru

tions in the aviation industr

world recession

rise in unemployment and jobs at risk

closure of enterprises

uncertainty affecting consumer and business confidence

indefinite duration of the pandemic (including reactivation)

the extent of blockages and travel restrictions

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 the hope that in the event of an emergency

Brussels will not stand aside (but Brussels ignored

Italy's request for assistance) (iz.ru);

 slow response of national governments;

 austerity in government health spending;

 the unpreparedness of the health care system for

an emergency;

 strengthening of tendencies "to the growth of

criticism of Brussels" (Taranets, 2020).

The SWOT analysis carried out by the authors

showed that, despite external and internal threats and

negative impacts on the economy as a whole and on

individual industries, in particular, nation states, have

the potential for a worthy way out of this situation.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has had and

continues to have an unprecedented impact on all

aspects of people's lives around the world. The EU as

a whole and individual states are in a very difficult

situation. Governments are forced to take measures

aimed at countering and minimizing the crisis

phenomena that have arisen in connection with the

pandemic. Most countries are introducing stimulus

packages, including employment support measures,

social support measures, business support measures,

primarily tax measures. These measures need to be

viewed both in the national and in the transboundary

context.

But in general, the situation in the EU, and in

individual countries, especially in the European

countries of the Greater Mediterranean, is far from the

optimism of the “pre-pandemic era”. Of course, it is

too early to talk about the EU crisis, but the

prerequisites for this are already visible in the actions

of national governments and in the response of

Brussels to requests for assistance. Undoubtedly,

after the pandemic, the world will not be the same.

The search for new models of interaction between

countries and regions is the key to successfully

overcoming the crisis and reaching sustainable

development.

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