EUROPE, COVID-19, AND U.S. RELATIONS*

The EU coordinated the imposition of bloc-wide travel restrictions on most foreign visitors;worked to ensure the provision of sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies across Europe;and is supporting research and development (R&D) of treatments, diagnostics, and vaccines, in part through leading international donor efforts. Many analysts consider U.S. and European leadership as instrumental in managing past global public health crises, such as the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, but view diplomatic cooperation on the COVID-19 pandemic as largely lacking to date. Potential areas for congressional consideration may include the following: * The extent of U.S.-European collaboration on COVID-19 in existing forums, such as NATO or the G-7, and possible new initiatives, such as a U.S.-EU dialogue and/or an early warning system on global health threats. * Possibilities for enhancing U.S.-European economic cooperation to help promote financial recovery on both sides of the Atlantic, including through potential new U.S.-EU and U.S-UK free trade agreements. * Potential ways to reduce supply chain vulnerabilities for PPE and other medical equipment, for example by deepening existing U.S.EU regulatory cooperation on pharmaceuticals and medical devices. * Options for countering COVID-19 disinformation campaigns that have targeted the United States and its European allies and are believed to be backed by China, Russia, and other foreign powers. * Prospects for and challenges to greater U.S.-European coordination in addressing China's geopolitical and economic rise. * This is an edited, reformatted and augmented version of Congressional Research Service Publication No.

THE EUROPEAN UNION: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS *

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic partnership that represents a unique form of cooperation among sovereign countries. The EU is the latest stage in a process of integration begun after World War II, initially by six Western European countries, to foster interdependence and make another war in Europe unthinkable. The EU currently consists of 27 member states, including most of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and has helped to promote peace, stability, and economic prosperity throughout the European continent.